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THE 



SAINTS' 



EVERLASTING REST 



BY THE 

REV. RICHARD BAXTER 



AHKIDGED UY 

BENJAMIN FAWCETT, A. M, 



PUBLISHED BY TttE 

AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY 

150 NASSAU -ST HEKT, NEW-YORK. 

U . t a:i,.iia* , 1 lUlkcl. 



ftV** 



V' 



51 



In this edition some obsolete or defective forms of expression are 
altered without changing the thought. 



This volume is stereotyped and perpetuated through the liberality of Asa 
Tenny, Eoq. of Newbury, Vt.; Mr. Henry Homes, of Boston; Rev. Eben- 
ezer Burgess, of Dedham, Mass. ; Nicholas Brown, Of Providence ; Mat- 
thew Marvin, Esq. of Wilton, Con. ; Rev. Dr. Milnor, Col. Henry Rutgers, 
and S. C„ of New-York; Hon. Stephen Van Rensselaer, of Albany; and 
Rev. Henry Dwight, of Geneva. 



ttttt 

Mr». Henn«n Jennings 
April 26, 1933 



CONTENTS. 

PAGH 

Introductory Essay 5 

Compiler's Preface 9 

Chap. I. — The Introduction to the work, with some ac- 
count of the nature of the Saints' Rest 19 

Chap. II. — The great preparatives to the Saints' Rest 44 

Chap. III. — The excellencies of the Saints' Rest 57 

Chap. IV.— The character of the persons for whom this 
Rest is designed 83 

Chap. V. — The great misery of those who lose the 
Saints' Rest 109 

Chap. VI. — The misery of those who, besides losing the 
Saints' Rest, lose the enjoyments of time, and suffer 
he torments of hell - 130 

Chap. VII.— The necessity of diligently seeking the 
Saints' Rest 151 

Chap. VIII. — How to discern our title to the Saints' 
Rest 181 

Chap. IX. — The duty of the people of God to excite 
others to seek this Rest 21 1 

Chap. X. — The Saints' Rest is not to be expected on 
earth 242 

Chap. XI. — The importance of leading a heavenly life 
upon earth 272 

Chap. XII. — Directions how to lead a heavenly life 
upon earth 303 

Chap. XIII.— The nature of heavenly contemplation ; 
with the time, place, and temper fittest for it 333 

Chap. XIV. — What use heavenly contemplation makes 
of consideration, affections, soliloquy, and prayer 353 

Chap. XV. — Heavenly contemplation assisted by sensi- 
ble objects, and guarded against a treacherous heart 379 

Chap. XVI. — Heavenly contemplation exemplified, and 
the whole work concluded 406 



EXTRACTS 

FROM AN 

INTRODUCTORY ESSAY, 
By THOMAS ERSKINE, Esa. 



We do not arrogate to ourselves so much as to suppose 
that our commendation can add any thing to the authority 
of such a name as that of Richard Baxter. He belonged 
to a class of men whose characters and genius, now uni- 
versally venerated, seem to have been most peculiarly 
adapted, by Divine Providence, to the circumstances of 
their age and country. We do not speak only of those who 
partook in Baxter's views of ecclesiastical polity; but of 
those who, under any name, maintained the cause of truth 
and liberty during the eventful period of the seventeenth 
century. They were made of the same firm stuff with the 
Wickliffs, and the Luthers, and the Knoxes, and the Cran- 
mers, and the Latimers, of a former age. They formed a 
distinguished division of the same glorious army of refor- 
mation ; they encountered similar obstacles, and they were 
directed, and supported, and animated by the same spirit. 
They were the true and enlightened crusaders, who, with 
all the zeal and courage which conducted their chivalrous 
ancestors to the earthly Jerusalem, fought their way to the 
heavenly city; and rescuing, by their sufferings and by 
their labors, the key of knowledge from the unworthy 
hands in which it had long lain rusted and misused, ge* 
nerously left it as a rich inheritance to all coming genera- 
tions. They speak with the solemn dignity of martyrs. 
They seem to feel the importance of their tneme, and "the 
perpetual presence of Him who is the great subject of it. 
There are only two things which they seem to consider as 

6. R. 1* 



O INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 

realities— the favor of God and the enmity of God ; and 
only two parties in the universe to choose between — the 
party of God and the party of his adversaries. Hence that 
heroic and noble tone which marks their lives and their 
writings. They had chosen their side, and they knew ihat 
it was worthy of all they could do or suffer for it. 

The agitated state of surrounding circumstances gave 
them continual proof of the instability of all things tem- 
poral, and inculcated on them the necessity of seeking a 
happiness which might be independent of external things, 
They thus practically learned the vanity and nothingness 
of life, except in its relation to eternity ; and they declared 
to their fellow- creatures the mysteries of the kingdom of 
God, with the tone of men who knew that the lightest word 
which they spoke outweighed, in the balance of reason as 
well as of the sanctuary, the value of all earth's plans, and 
politics, and interests. They were upon high and firm 
ground. They stood in the midst of that tempestuous 
ocean, secure on the Rock of Ages ; and as they uttered to 
those around them their invitations, or remonstrances, or 
consolations, they thought not of the tastes, but of the ne- 
cessities of men — they thought only of the difference be- 
tween being lost and being saved, and they cried aloud, and 
spared not. 

There is no doubt a great variety of thought, and feeling, 
and expression to be met with in the theological writers of 
that class; but deep and solemn seriousness is the character 
of them all. They seem to have felt much. Religion was 
not allowed to remain as an unused theory in their heads ; 
they were forced to live on it as their food, and to have re- 
course to it as their only strength and comfort. Hence 
their thoughts are never given as abstract views ; they are 
always deeply impregnated with sentiment. Their style 
reminds us of the light which streams through the stained 
and storied windows of an ancient cathedral. It is not 
light merely, but light modified by the rich hues, and the 
quaint forms, and the various incidents of the pictured 
medium through which it passes. So these venerable 
worthies do not give us merely ideas, but ideas colored by 
the deep affections of their own hearts ; they do not merely 
give us truth, but truth in its historical application to the 
various struggles, and difficulties, and dejections of their 



INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. 



strangely checkered lives. This gives a great interest to 
their writings. They are real men, and not books, that we 
are conversing with. And the peace, and the strength, and 
the hope which they describe, are not the fictions of fancy, but 
the positive and substantial effects of the knowledge of God 
on their own minds. They are thus, not merely waymarks 
to direct our journey ings ; they seem themselves pilgrims 
traveling on the same road, and encouraging lis 10 keep 
pace with them. In their books, they seem thus still to jour- 
ney, still to combat ; but, O let us think of the bright reality ! 
— their contests are past, their labors are over ; they have 
fought the good fight, and they are now at rest, made perfect 
in Christ Jesus. They are joined to that cloud of witnesses, 
of whom the world was not worthy ; and their names are in- 
scribed in the rolls of heaven ; yet not for their own glory, 
but for the glory of him who washed them from their sins 
in his own blood, and whose strength was made perfect in 
their weakness. 

These are the great men of England ; and to them, under 
God, is England indebted for much of that which is valua- 
ble in her public institutions, and in the character of her 
people. They were, indeed, a noble army ; they were born 
from above, to be the combatants for truth ; they were placed 
in the gap, and they held their ground, or fell at their posts. 

In this army Richard Baxter w T as a standard-bearer. He 
labored much, as well in preaching as in writing, and with 
an abundant blessing on both. He had all the high mental 
qualities of his class in perfection. His mind is inexhausti- 
ble, and vigorous, and vivacious, to an extraordinary de- 
gree. He seizes irresistibly on the attention, and carries it 
along with him ; and we assuredly do not know any author 
who can be compared with him for the power with which 
he brings his reader directly face to face with death, and 
judgment, and eternity; and compels him to look upon 
them, and converse with them. He is himself most deeply 
serious, and the holy solemnity of his own soul seems to en- 
velope the reader, as with the air of a temple. 

The Saints' Everlasting Rest w r as written on a bed of 
sickness. It contains those thoughts and feelings which oc- 
cupied, and fortified, and animated the author, as he stood 
on the brink of eternity. The examples of heavenly medi- 
tation which he gives, really breathe of heaven ; and the 



8 INTRODUCTORY ESSAYJ 

importance of such meditation, as a duty, and as a means 
of spiritual growth, is admirably set forth, and most power- 
fully enforced* And is it not a most pernicious madness 
and stupidity to neglect this duty 1 Is it not strange that 
such prospects should excite so little interest % Is it not 
strange that the uncertainty of the duration of life, and the 
certainty of its sorrows, do not compel men to seek refuge 
in that inheritance which is incorruptible, undefined, and 
which fadeth not away % Is it not strange that the offers of 
friendship, and intimate relationship, which God is continu- 
ally holding out to us, should be slighted, even in competi- 
tion with the society of those whom we cannot but despise 
and reprobated Is it not strange that we should, day after 
day, allow ourselves to be duped by the same false promi- 
ses of happiness, which have disappointed us just as often 
as they have been trusted*? O let us be persuaded that 
there is no rest in created things. No ; there is no rest, ex- 
cept in Him who made us. Who is the man that can say 
he has found rest elsewhere 1 No man says it. May God 
open our hearts, as well as our understandings, to see the 
truth ; that we may practically know the insufficiency, and 
hollowness, and insecurity of all earthly hopes ; and that we 
may be led, in simplicity and earnestness, to seek, and so 
to find our rest in Himself. T E. 

Edinburgh) February, 1824. 



TUB 



COMPILER'S PREFACE. 



Mr. Richard Baxter, the author of the Saints' Rest, so 
well known to the world by this and many other excellent 
and useful writings, was a learned, laborious, and eminently 
holy divine of the last age. He was born near Shrewsbury 
in 1615, and died at London in 1691. 

His ministry, in an unsettled state, was for many years 
employed with great and extensive success, both in London 
and in several parts of the country ; but he was nowhere 
fixed so long, or with such entire satisfaction to himself, and 
apparent advantage to others, as at Kidderminster. His 
abode there was indeed interrupted, partly by -his bad he th, 
but chiefly by the calamities of a civil war, yet in the whole 
it amounted to sixteen years; nor w r as it by any means the 
result of his own choice, or that of the inhabitants of Kid- 
derminster, that he never settled there again, after his going 
from thence in 1660. Before his coming thither, the place 
was overrun with ignorance and profaneness; but, by the 
divine blessing on his wise and faithful cultivation, the fruits 
of righteousness sprung up in rich abundance. He at first 
found but a single instance or two of daily family prayer in 
a whole street ; and, at his going away, but one family or two 
could be found in some streets, that continued to neglect it. 



10 compiler's preface. 

And on Lord's days, instead of the open profanation to 
which they had been so long accustomed, a person, in pass- 
ing through the town in the intervals of public worship, 
might overhear hundreds of families engaged in singing 
psalms, reading the Scriptures and other good books, or sucli 
sermons as they had taken down while they heard them 
from the pulpit. His care of the souls committed to his 
charge, and the success of his labors among them, were truly 
remarkable; for the number of his stated communicants 
rose to six hundred, of whom he himself declared there 
were not twelve concerning whose sincere piety he had not 
reason to entertain good hopes. Blessed be God, the religious 
spirit which was thus happily introduced, is yet to be traced 
in the town and neighborhood in some degree ; (O that it 
were in a greater !) and in proportion as that spirit remains, 
the name of Mr. Baxter continues m the most honorable and 
affectionate remembrance. 

Asa writer, he has the approbation of some of his greatest 
contemporaries, who best knew him, and were under no 
temptations to be partial in his favor. Dr. Barrow said, 
" His practical writings were never mended, and his con- 
troversial ones seldom confuted." With a view to his casu- 
istical writings, the honorable Robert Boyle declared, " He 
was the fittest man of the age for a casuist, because he fear- 
ed no man's displeasure, nor hoped for any man's prefer- 
ment." Bishop Wilkins observed of him, "that he had cul- 
tivated every subject he had handled ; that if he had lived 
in the primitive times, he would have been one of the fathers 
of the church ; and that it was enough for one age to pro- 
duce such a person as Mr. Baxter." Archbishop Usher had 
such high thoughts of him, that by his earnest importunity 
he put him upon writing several of his practical discourses, 
particularly that celebrated piece, his Call to the Unconvert- 
ed. Dr. Manton, as he freely expressed it, " thought Mr. 



COMPILERS PREFACE. 11 

Baxter came nearer the apostolical writings than any man 
in the age." And it is both as a preacher and a writer that 
Dr. Bates considers him, when, in his funeral sermon for 
him, he says, " In his sermons there was a rare union of ar- 
guments and motives to convince the mind and gain the 
heart. All the fountains of reason and persuasion were open 
to his discerning eye. There was no resisting the force of 
his discourses, without denying reason and diWne revela- 
tion. He had a marvellous facility and copiousness in speak- 
ing. There was a noble negligence in his style, for his great 
mind could not stoop to the affected eloquence of words ; he 
despised flashy oratory, but his expressions were clear and 
powerful ; so convincing the understanding, so entering into 
the soul, so engaging the affections, that those were as deaf 
as adders who were not charmed by so wise a charmer. He 
was animated with the Holy Spirit, and breathed celestial 
fire, to inspire heat and life into dead sinners, and to melt 
the obdurate in their frozen tombs. His books, for their 
number, (which it seems were more than one hundred and 
twenty,) and variety of matter in them, make a library. 
They contain a treasure of controversial, casuistical, and 
practical divinity. His books of practical divinity have been 
effectual for more numerous conversions of sinners to God, 
than any printed in our time ; and while the church remains 
on earth, will be of continual efficacy to recover lost souls. 
There is a vigorous pulse in them, that keeps the reader 
awake and attentive. "To these testimonies may not impro- 
perly be added that of the editors of his practical works in 
four folio volumes ; in the preface to which they say, "Per- 
haps there are no writings among us that have more of a 
true Christian spirit, a greater mixture of judgment and af- 
fection, or a greater tendency to revive pure and undented 
religion ; that have been more esteemed abroad, or more 
blessed at home, for awakening the secure, instructing the 
ignorant, confirming the wavering, comforting the dejected, 



12 compiler's preface. 

recovering the profane or improving such as are truly se- 
rious, than the practical works of this author." Such wore 
the apprehensions of eminent persons, who were well ae~ 
quainted with Mr. Baxter and his writings. It is therefore 
the less remarkable that Mr. Addison, from an accidental 
and very imperfect acquaintance, but with his usual plea- 
santness and candor, should mention the following incident: 
" I once met with a page of Mr. Baxter. Upon the perusal 
of it, I conceived so good an idea of the author's piety, that 
I bought the whole book. 3 ' 

, Whatever other causes might concur, it must chiefly be as- 
cribed to Mr. Baxter's distinguished reputation as a preach- 
er and a writer, that, presently after the restoration, he was 
appointed one of the chaplains in ordinary to King Charles 
II. and preached once before him in that capacity; as also 
that he had an offer made him, by the Lord Chancellor Cla- 
rendon, of the bishopric of Hereford, which, in a respectful 
letter to his lordship, he saw proper to decline. 

The Saints' Rest is deservedly esteemed one of the most 
valuable parts of his practical works. He wrote it when he 
was far from home, without any book to consult but his Bi- 
ble, and in such an ill state of health as to be in continual 
expectation of death for many months ; and therefore, mere- 
ly for his own use, he fixed his thoughts on this heavenly 
subject, " which," says he, "hath more benefited me than all 
the studies of my life." At this time he could be little more 
than thirty years old. He afterwards preached over the sub- 
ject in his weekly lecture at Kidderminster, and in 1G50 he 
published it ; and indeed it appears to have been the first that 
ever he published of all his practical writings. Of th is book 
Dr. Bates says, " It was written by him when languishing 
in the suspense of life and death, but has the signatures oi 
his holy and vigorous mind. To allure our desires, he un- 
veils the sanctury above, and discovers the glories ami j<ys 



compiler's pre j ace. 13 

of the blessed in the Divine Presence, by a light so strong 
and lively, that all the glittering vanities of this world va- 
nish in the comparison, and a sincere believer will despise 
them, as one of mature age does the toys and baubles of chil- 
dren. To excite our fear, he removes the screen, and makes 
the everlasting fire of hell so visible, and represents the tor- 
menting passions of the damned in those dreadful colors, 
that, if duly considered, would check and control the unbri- 
dled, licentious appetites of the most sensual wretches." 

Heavenly rest is a subject in its own nature so universally 
important and interesting, and at the same time so truly en- 
gaging and delightful, as sufficiently accounts for the great 
acceptance which this book has met with; and partly, also, 
for the uncommon blessing which has attended Mr. Baxter's 
manner of treating the subject, both from the pulpit and the 
press. For where are the operations of divine grace more 
reasonably to be expected, or where have they, in fact, been 
more frequently discerned, than in concurrence with the 
best adapted means % And should it appear that persons of 
distinguishing judgment and piety have expressly ascribed 
theii first religious impressions to the hearing or reading the 
important sentiments contained in this book ; or, after a long 
series of years, have found it both the counterpart and the 
improvement of their own divine life; will not this be 
thought a considerable recommendation of the book itself? 

Among the instances of persons that dated their true con- 
version from hearing the sermons on the Saints' Rest, when 
Mr. Baxter first preached them, was the Rev. Thomas Doo- 
little, M. A. who was a native of Kidderminster, and at that 
time a scholar about seventeen years old ; whom Mr. Bax- 
ter himself afterward sent to Pembroke Hall, in Cambridge, 
where he took his degree. Before his going to the university, 
he was upon trial as an attorney's clerk, and under that 
character) being ordered by his master to write something 

2 Saints' Rest. 



14 compiler's preface. 

on a Lord's day, he obeyed with great reluctance, and the 
next day returned home, with an earnest desire that he 
might not apply himself to any thing, as the employment of 
life, but serving Christ in the ministry of the Gospel. His 
praise is yet in the churches, for his pious and useful labors 
as a minister, a tutor, and a writer. 

In the life of the Rev. John Janeway, Fellow of King's 
College, Cambridge, who died in 1857, we are told that his 
conversion was, in a great measure, occasioned by his read- 
ing several parts of the Saints' Rest. And in a letter which 
he afterwards wrote to a near relative, speaking with a more 
immediate reference to that part of the book which treats of 
heavenly contemplation, he says, " There is a dutyj. which, 
if it were exercised, would dispel all cause of melancholy: 
I mean heavenly meditation and contemplation of the things 
which true Christian religion tends to. If we did but walk 
closely with God one hour in a day in this duty, O.what in- 
fluence would it have upon the whole day besides, and, duly 
performed, upon the whole life ! This duty, with, its useful- 
ness, manner, and directions, I knew in some measure be- 
fore, but had it more pressed upon me by Mr. Baxter's 
Saints' Everlasting Rest, a book that can scarce, be overva- 
lued, for which I have cause for ever to bless .God. This 
excellent young minister's life is worth reading,, were it 
only to see how delightfully he was engaged in. heavenly 
contemplation, according to the directions in the Saints' 
Rest. ' li 

Tt waTs the example of heavenly contemplation, at.tlje close 
of this 'book, which the Rev. Joseph Alleine, of Taunton, so 
frequently quoted in conversation, wiih this solemn intro- 
duction^ { ' Most divinely says that man of God, ^oly Mr 
Baxter';^ ■;■• • - . ,..- 

Dr;<Bates. in his; dedication of the. funeral sermonfor Mr, 



COMPILE Pw*S PREFACE. 15 

Baxter to Sir Henry Ashurst, says to that religious gentleman 
and most distinguished friend and executor of Mr. Baxter, 
" He was most worthy of your highest esteem and love ; for 
the first impressions of heaven upon your soul were in read- 
ing his invaluable book of the Saints' Everlasting Rest. 

In the life of the Rev. Matthew Henry we have the follow- 
ing character given us of Robert Warburton, Esq. of Grange, 
the son of the eminently religious Judge Warburton. and the 
father of Mr. Matthew Henry's second wife. " He was a 
gentleman that greatly affected retirement and privacy, espe- 
cially in the latter part of his life; the Bible, and Mr. Bax- 
ter's Saints' Everlasting Rest, used, to lie daily before him 
on the table in his parlor; he spent the greatest part of his 
time in reading and prayer." 

In the life of that honorable and most religious knight, 
Sir Nathaniel Barnardiston, we are told that " he was con- 
stant in secret prayer and reading the Scriptures ; afterward 
lie read other choice authors; but not long before his death 
he took great delight in reading Mr. Baxter's Saints' Ever- 
lasting Rest, and preparations thereunto; which was es- 
teemed a gracious event of Divine Providence, sending it 
as a guide to bring him more speedily and directly to that 
rest." 

Besides persons of eminence, to whom this book has been 
precious and profitable, we have an instance, in the Rev. 
James Janeway's Token for Children, of a little boy, whose 
piety was so discovered and promoted by reading it, as the 
most delightful book to him, next the Bible, that the thoughts 
of everlasting rest seemed, even while he continued in 
health, to swallow up all other thoughts; and he lived in a 
constant preparation for it. and looked more like one that 



16 



COMPILERS PREFACE. 



was ripe for glory, than an inhabitant of this lower world. 
And when he was in the sickness of which he died before 
he was twelve years old, he said, " I pray, let me have Mr 
Baxter's book, that I may read a little more of eternity be- 
fore I £o into it." 



;d v 



Nor is it less observable that Mr. Baxter himself, taking 
notice, in a paper found in his study after his death, what 
number of persons were converted by reading his Call to 
the Unconverted, accounts of which he had received by let- 
ter every week, expressly adds, " This little book, the Call 
to the Unconverted, God hath blessed with unexpected suc- 
cess, beyond all that I have written, except the Saints' Rest.' 1 
With an evident reference to this book, and even during the 
life of the author, the pious Mr. Flavel affectionately says, 
" Mr. Baxter is almost in heaven — living in the daily views 
and cheerful expectation of the saints' everlasting rest with 
God ; and is left for a little while among us, as a great ex- 
ample of the life of faith." And Mr. Baxter himself says, 
in his preface to his Treatise of Self-Denial, "I must say, 
that of ail the books which I have written, I peruse none so 
often for the use of my own soul in its daily work, as my 
Life of Faith, this of Self-Denial, and the last part of the 
Saints' Rest." On the whole, it is not without good reason 
that Dr. Calamy remarks concerning it, " This is a book, 
for which multitudes will have cause to bless God for ever." 

This excellent and useful book now appears in the form 
of an abridgment ; and therefore, it is presumed, will be the 
more likely, under the divine blessing, to diffuse its salutary 
influence among those that would otherwise have wanted 
opportunity or inclination to read over the larger volume. 
In reducing it to this smaller size, [ have been very desirous 
to do justice to the author, and at the same time promote ine 



PREFACE. 17 

pleasure and profit of the serious reader. And I hope these 
ends are, in some measure, answered ; chiefly by dropping 
things of a digressive, controversial, or metaphysical na- 
ture ; together with prefaces, dedications, and various allu- 
sions to some peculiar circumstances of the last age ; and 
particularly by throwing several chapters into one, that the 
number of them may better correspond with the size of the 
volume ; and sometimes by altering the form, but not the 
sense, of a period, for the sake of brevity ; and when an ob- 
solete phrase occurred, changing it for one more common 
and intelligible. I should never have thought of attempting 
this work, if it had not been suggested and urged by others ; 
and by some very respectable names, of whose learning, 
judgment, and piety I forbear to avail myself. However de- 
fectire this performance may appear, the labor of it (if it 
may be called a labor) has been, I bless God, one of the most 
delightful labors of my life. 

Certainly the thoughts of everlasting rest may be as de- 
lightful to souls in the present day, as they have ever been 
to those of past generations. I am sure such thoughts are as 
absolutely necessary now; nor are temptations to neglect 
them either fewer or weaker than formerly. The worth of 
everlasting rest is not felt, because a thousand trifles are 
preferred before it. But were the divine reasonings of this 
book duly attended to, (and O that the Spirit and grace of a 
Redeemer may make them so!) then an age of vanity would 
become serious ; minds enervated by sensuality would soon 
resume the strength of reason, and display the excellence of 
Christianity; the delusive names of pleasure would be blot- 
ted out by the glorious reality of heavenly joy upon eartii ; 
every station and relation in life would be filled up with the 
propriety and dignity of serious religion ; every member of 
society would then effectually contribute to the beauty and 

2* 



13 



compiler's preface. 



happiness of the whole ; and every soul would be ready for 
life or death, for one world or another, in a well-grounded 
and cheerful persuasion of having secured a title to that 
rest which remaineth to the people of God, 

B. P. 

Kidderminster } Dec %M t 1758. 



THE 



SAINTS' EVERLASTING REST, 



HEBREWS, 4 : 9. 

THERE REMAINETH THEREFORE A REST UNTO THE 

PEOPLE OP GOD. 



CHAPTER I. 



THE INTRODUCTION TO THE WORK, WITH SOME ACCOUNT OP 
THE NATURE OF THE SAINTS' REST. 

The important design of the apostle in the text, to which the 
author earnestly bespeaks the attention of tlie reader. The 
saints'* rest defined, with a general plan of the work. What 
this rest presupposes. The aulhofs humble sense of Ms ina- 
bility fully to show what this rest contains. It contains, 1. A 
ceasing from means of grace ; 2. A perfect freedom from all 
evils ; 3. The highest degree of the saints' personal 'perfec- 
tion, both in body and soul ; 4. The nearest enjoyment of 
God, the chief good ; 5. A sweet and constant action of all the 
powers of soul and body in this enjoyment of God; as, for 
instance, bodily senses, knowledge, memory, love, joy, toge- 
ther with a mutual love and joy. 

It was not only our interest in God, and actual 
enjoyment of him, which was lost in Adam's fall, but 
all spiritual knowledge of him, and true disposition 
toward such a felicity. When the Son of God comes 



20 NATURE OF 

with recovering grace, and discoveries of a spiritual 
and eternal happiness and glory, he finds not faith 
in man to believe it. As the poor man, that would 
not believe any one had such a sum as a hundred 
pounds, it was so far above what himself possessed, 
so men will hardly now believe there is such a hap- 
piness as once they had, much less as Christ hath 
now procured. When God would give the Israelites 
his Sabbaths of rest, in a land of rest, he had more 
ado to make them believe it, than to overcome their 
enemies, and procure it for them. And when they 
had it, only as a small intimation and earnest of an 
incomparably more glorious rest through. Christ, 
they yet believe no more than they possess, but say, 
with ihe glutton at the feast, Sure there is no other 
heaven but this 1 or, if they expect more by the Mes- 
siah, it is only the increase of their earthly felicity. 
The apostle aims most of this Epistle against this 
obduracy, and clearly and largely proves that the 
end of all ceremonies and shadows is to direct them 
to Jesus Christ, the substance; and that the rest of 
Sabbaths, and Canaan, should teach them to look 
for a further rest, which indeed is their happiness. 
My text is his conclusion after divers arguments ; a 
conclusion which contains the ground of all the be- 
liever's comfort, the end of all his duty and, suffer- 
ings, the life and sum of ail Gospel promises and 
Christian privileges. What more welcome to men, 
under personal afflictions, tiring duties, sore trials^ 



THE SAINTS 1 REST. 21 

or sufferings, than rest? It is not our comfort only ; 
but our stability. Our liveliness in all duties, our en- 
during tribulation, our honoring of God, the vigor 
of our love, thankfulness, and all our graces ; yea, 
the very being of our religion and Christianity de- 
pend on the believing serious thoughts of our rest 
And now, reader, whoever thou art, young or old, 
rich or poor, I entreat thee, and charge thee, in the 
name of thy Lord, who will shortly call thee to a 
reckoning, and judge thee to thy everlasting, un- 
changeable state, that thou give not these things the 
reading only, and so dismiss them with a bare ap- 
probation; but that thou set upon this work, and take 
God in Christ for thy only rest, and fix thy heart 
upon him above all. May the living God, who is 
the portion and rest of his saints, make these our 
carnal minds so spiritual, and our earthly hearts so 
heavenly, that loving him, and delighting in him, 
may be the work of our lives ; and that neither I that 
write, nor you that read, this book, may ever be 
turned from this path of life ; lest, a promise being 
left us of entering into his rest, we should come short 
of it, through our own unbelief or negligence. 

The saints' rest is the most happy state of a Chris- 
tian; or, it is the perfect endless enjoyment of God 
by the perfected saints, according to the measure of 
their capacity to which their souls arrive at death, 
and both soul and body most fully, after the resur- 
rection and final judgment. According to this defini- 



22 NATURE OF 

tion of the saints' rest, a larger account of its nature 
will be given in this chapter; of its preparatives, 
chap. 2 ; its excellencies, chap. 3 ; and chap. 4, the 
persons for whom it is designed. Further to illus- 
trate the subject, some description will be given, chap. 
5, of their misery who lose this rest ; and, chap. 6, 
who also lose the enjoyments of time, and suffer the 
torments of hell. Next will be shown, chap. 7, the 
necessity of diligently seeking this rest ; chap. 8, how 
our title to it may be discerned : chap. 9, that they 
who discern their title to it should help those thm 
cannot ; and, chap. 1 0, that this rest is not to be ex- 
pected on earth. It will then be proper to consider, 
chap. 11, the importance of a heavenly life upon 
earth; chap. 12, how to live a heavenly life upon 
earth ; chap. 1 3, the nature of heavenly contempla- 
tion, with the time, place, and temper fittest for it; 
chap. 14, what use heavenly contemplation makes 
of consideration, affections, soliloquy and prayer ; 
and likewise, chap. 15, how heavenly contemplation 
may be assisted by sensible objects, and guarded 
against a treacherous heart. Heavenly contempla- 
tion will be exemplified, chap. 16, and the whole 
work concluded. 

There are some things necessarily presupposed 
m the nature of this rest ; as, for instance, that mor- 
tal men are the persons seeking it. For angels and 
glorified spirits have it already, and the devils and 
damned are past hope. That they choose God only 



THE SAINTS REST. 23 

for their end and happiness. He that takes any thing 
eise for his happiness is out of the way the first step. — 
That they are distant from this end. This is the wo- 
ful case of all mankind since the fall. When Christ 
comes with regenerating grace, he finds no man sit- 
ting still, but all posting to eternal ruin, and making 
haste toward hell ; till, by conviction, he first brings 
them to a stand, and then, by conversion, turns their 
hearts and lives sincerely to himself, This end, and 
its excellency, is supposed to be known, and serious- 
ly intended. An unknown good moves not to desire 
or endeavor. And not only a distance from this rest, 
but the true knowledge of this distance, is also sup- 
posed. jThey that never yet knew they were without 
God, and in the way to hell, did never yet know the 
way to heaven. Can a man find he .hath lost his 
God and his soul, and not cry, I am undone }, The 
reason Why so few obtain this rest, is, they : will not 
be convinced that they are, in point .of title, distant 
from it ;.and, in point of practice, contrary to it. . Who 
ever sought for that which he knew net; he had lost? 
" They that be whole need not a physician, but they 
that be sick.'' — The influence of a superior ; moving 
cause is also supposed; else we shall all. stand still, 
and not m<pve toward our rest. , If God .move,us not, 
we cannot move. It is a most necessary part .of our 
Christian wisdom, to keep pur subordination f.q God, 
and dependence on him. •" {We are not .sufficient of 
ourselves t6:think any thing- as of ourselves,, buj; our 



24 NATURE OF 

sufficiency is of God." " Without me," says Chris*., 
"ye can do nothing." — It is next supposed, that they 
who seek this rest have an inward principle of spi- 
ritual life. God does not move men like stones, but 
he endows them with life, not to enable them to 
move without him, but in subordination to himself, 
the first mover. And further, this rest supposes such 
an actual tendency of soul toward it as is regular 
and constant, earnest and laborious. He that hides 
his talent shall receive the wages of a slothful ser- 
vant. Christ is the door, the only way to this rest. 
" But strait is the gate and narrow is the way;' : and 
we must strive, if we wi 11 enter ; for " many will 
seek to enter in, and shall not be able ;" which im- 
plies, "that the kingdom of heaven suflereth vio- 
lence." Nor will it bring us to the end of the saints, 
if we begin in the spirit and end in the flesh. He 
only " that endureth to the end shall be saved." And 
never did a soul obtain rest with God whose desire 
was not set upon him above all things else in the 
world. " Where your treasure is, there will your 
heart be also." The remainder of our old nature 
will much weaken and interrupt these desires, but 
never overcome them. And, considering the opposi- 
tion to our desires, from the contrary principles in our 
nature, and from the weakness of our graces, together 
with our continued distance from the end, our ten- 
dency to that end must be laborious, and with all our 
might.— All these things are pre-supposed, in order to 



the saints' rest. 25 

a Christian's obtaining- an interest in heavenly rest. 
Now we have ascended these steps into the out- 
ward court, may we look within the veil/? May we 
show what this rest contains, as well as what it pre- 
supposes ? Alas ! how little know I of that glory ! 
The glimpse which Paul had, contained what could 
not, or must not, be uttered. Had he spoken the 
things of heaven in the language of heaven, and 
none understood that language, what the better? 
The Lord revealed to me what I may reveal to you ! 
The Lord open some light, and show both you and 
me our inheritance ! Not as to Balaam only, whose 
eyes were opened to see the goodliness of Jacob's 
tents, and Israel's tabernacles, where he had no por- 
tion, and from whence must come his own destruc- 
tion ; not as to Moses, who had only a discovery in- 
stead of possession, and saw the land which he never 
entered ; but as the pearl was revealed to the mer- 
chant in the Gospel, who rested not till he had sold 
all he had, and bought it ; and as heaven was opened 
to blessed Stephen, which he was shortly to enter, 
and the glory showed him which should be his own 
possession ! — The things contained in heavenly rest 
are such as these : — -a ceasing from means of grace ; 
a perfect freedom from all evils; the highest degree 
of the saints' personal perfection, both of body and 
soul; the nearest enjoyment of God, the chief good; 
and a sweet and constant action of all the powers of 
body and soul in this enjoyment of God. 

o Saints' Rest. 



26 NATURE OF 

1. One thing contained in hea\-enly rest, is, the 
ceasing from means of grace. When we have ob- 
tained the haven, we have done saLing. When the 
workman receives his wages, it is implied he has 
done his work. When we are at our journey's end, 
we have done with the way. Whether prophecies, 
they shall fail ; whether tongues, they shall cease ; 
whether knowledge, it also, so far as it had the na- 
ture of means, shall vanish away. There shall bo 
no more prayer, because no more necessity, but the 
full enjoyment of what we prayed for : neither shall 
we need to fast, and weep, and watch any more, be- 
ing out of the reach of sin and temptations. Preach- 
ing is done ; the ministry of man ceaseth ; ordinances 
become useless ; the laborers are called in, because 
the harvest is gathered, the tares burned, and the 
work finished ; the unregenerate past hope, and the 
saints past fear, for ever. 

2. There is in heavenly rest a perfect freedom 
from all evils; all the evils that accompanied us 
through our course, and which necessarily follow 
our absence from the chief good : besides our free- 
dom from those eternal flames and restless miseries . 
which the neglecters of Christ and grace must for 
ever endure; a wofui inheritance, which, both by 
birth and actual merit, was due to us as well as to 
them ! In heaven there is nothing that defileth or is 
unclean. All that remains without. And doubtless 
there is not such a thing as grief and sorrow known 



THE saints' rest. 27 

there ; nor is there such a thing as a pale face, a lan- 
guid body, feeble joints, helpless infancy, decrepit age, 
peccant humors, painful or pining sickness, griping 
fears, consuming cares, nor whatsoever deserves the 
name of evil. We did weep and lament when the 
world did rejoice ; but our sorrow is turned to joy, 
and our joy shall no man take from us. 

3. Another ingredient of this rest is, the highest 
degree of the saints 1 personal perfection, both of body 
and soul. Were the glory ever so great, and them- 
selves not made capable of it by a personal perfec- 
tion suitable thereto, it would be litue to them. " Eye 
hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered 
into the heart of man, the things which God hath 
prepared for them that love him." For, the eye of 
flesh is not capable of seeing them, nor this ear of 
hearing them, nor this heart of understanding them: 
but there the eye, and ear, and heart are made ca- 
pable; else, how do they enjoy them? The more 
perfect the sight is, the more delightful the beautiful 
object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter 
the food. The more musical the ear, the more plea- 
sant the melody. The more perfect the soul, the 
more joyous those joys, and the more glorious, to 
us, is that glory. 

4. The principal part of this rest is our nearest 
enjoyment of God, the chief good. Ana here, reader, 
wonder not if I be at a loss, and if my apprehen- 
sions receive but little of that which is in my ex- 



28 NATURE OF 

pressions. If it did not appear to the beloved dis- 
ciple what we shall be, but only, in general, " that 
when Christ shall appear we shall be like him," no 
wonder if I know little. When I know so little of 
God, I cannot much know what it is to enjoy him. 
If I know so little of spirits, how little of the Father 
of spirits, or the state of my own soul, when advanc- 
ed to the enjoyment of him ! I stand and' look up 
on a heap of ants, and see them all with one view ; 
they know not me, my being, nature, or thoughts, 
though I am their fellow-creature ; how little, then, 
must we know of the great Creator, though he, with 
one view, clearly beholds us all ! A glimpse, the 
saints behold as in a glass, which makes us capable 
of some poor, dark apprehensions of what we shall 
behold in glory. If I should tell a worldling what 
the holiness and spiritual joys of the saints on earth 
are, he cannot know ; for grace cannot be clearly 
known without grace ; how much less could he con- 
ceive it; should I tell him of this glory ! But to the 
saints I may be somewhat more encouraged to speak ; 
for grace gives them a dark knowledge and slight 
taste of glory. If men and angels should study to 
speak the blessedness of that state in one word, what 
could they say beyond this, that it is the nearest en- 
joyment of God? O the full joys offered to a believer 
in that one sentence of Christ; "Father, I will that 
they whom thou hast given me be with me where 
I am, that they may behold my glory whicji thou 



THE saints' rest. 29 

hast given me!" Every word is full of life and joy. 
If the queen of Sheba had cause to say of Solomon's 
glory, " Happy are tr^r men, happy are these thy 
servants, who stand continually before thee, and hear 
thy wisdom;" then, surely, they that stand continu- 
ally before God, and see his glory, and the glory of 
the Lamb, are more than happy. To them will 
Christ give to eat of the tree of life, and to eat of the 
hidden manna ; yea, he will make them pillars in 
the temple of God, and they shall go no more out ; 
and he will write upon them the name of his God, 
and the name of the citv of his God, which is New- 
Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from 
his God, and he will write upon them his new name; 
yea, more, if more may be, he will grant them to sit 
with him in his throne. " These are they who came 
out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, 
and made them white in the blood of the Lamb ; 
therefore are they before the throne of God, and 
serve him day and night in his temple, and he that 
sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. The 
Lamb, which is in the m idst of the throne, shall feed 
them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of 
water; and God shall wipe away all tears from their 
eyes." O blind, deceived world! can you show us 
such a glory? This is the city of our God, where 
the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell 
with them, and they shall be his people, and God 
himself shall be with them, and be their God. The 
s. r. 3* 



BO NATURE OF 

glory of God shall lighten it, and the Lamb is the 
light thereof And there shall be no more curse ; 
but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in 
it; and his servants shall serve him, and they shali 
see his face, and his name shall be in their fore- 
heads. These sayings are faithful and true, and the 
things which must shortly be done. And now we 
say, as Mephibosheth, let the world take all, foras- 
much as our Lord will come in peace. Rejoice, 
therefore, in the Lord, O ye righteous! and say, 
with his servant David, " The Lord is the portion 
of mine inheritance : the lines are fallen unto me in 
pleasant places ; yea, I have a goodly heritage. I 
have set the Lord always before me : because he is 
at my right hand, I shall riot be moved. Therefore 
my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth ; my flesh 
also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my 
soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One 
to see corruption. Thou wilt show me the path of 
life; in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right 
hand there are pleasures for evermore." What pre- 
sumption would it have been, once, to have thought 
or spoken of such a thing, if God had not spoken it 
before us! I durst not have thought of the saints' 
preferment in this life, as Scripture sets it forth, had 
it not been the express truth of God. How indecent 
to talk of being sons of God — speaking to him — 
having fellowship with him — -dwelling in him and 
he in us — if this had not been God's own lanrrua^e! 



THE SAINTS' FwEST. 31 

How much less durst we have once thought of 
shining forth as the sun — of being joint heirs with 
Christ — of judging the world — of sitting on Christ's 
throne — of being one in him and the Father — if we 
had not all this from the mouth, and under the hand 
of God ! But hath he said, and shall he not do it % 
Hath he spoken ? and shall he not make it good ? — 
Yes, as the Lord God is true, thus shall it be done 
to the man whom Christ delighteth to honor. Be of 
good cheer, Christian ; the time is near when God 
and thou shalt be near, and as near as thou canst 
well desire. Thou shalt dwell in his family. Is that 
enough ? It is better to be a door-keeper in the 
house of God, than to dwell in the tents of wicked- 
ness. Thou shalt ever stand before him, about his 
throne, in the room with him, in his presence-cham- 
ber. Wouidst thou yet be nearer? Thou shalt be 
his child, and he thy Father ; thou shalt be an heir 
of his kingdom ; yea, more, the spouse of his Son. 
And what more canst thou desire ? Thou shalt be a 
member of the body of his Son ; he shall be thy head; 
thou shalt be one with him, who is one with the Fa- 
ther, as he himself hath desired for thee of his Fa- 
ther ; " that they all may be one, as thou, Father, 
art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one 
in us ; and the glory which thou gavest me, I have 
given them, that they may be one, even as we are 
one ; I in them, and thou in me, that they may be 
made perfect in one, and that the world may know 



32 NATURE OF 

that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them as thou 
hast loved me." 

5. We must add, that this rest contains a sweet 
and constant action of all the powers of the soul and 
body in this enjoyment : of God. It is not the rest of 
a stone, which ceaseth from all motion when it at- 
tains the centre. This body shall be so changed, 
that it shall no more be flesh and blood, which can- 
not inherit the kingdom of God; but a spiritual 
body. We sow not that body which shall be, but 
God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to 
every seed his own body. If grace makes a Chris- 
tian differ so much from what he was, as to say, I 
am not the man I was ; how much more will glory 
make us differ ! As much as a body spiritual, above 
the sun in glory, exceeds these frail, noisome, dis- 
eased bodies of flesh, so far shall our senses exceed 
those we now possess. Doubtless, as God advanceth 
our senses, and enlargeth our capacity, so will he 
advance the happiness of those senses, and fill up, 
with himself, all that capacity. Certainly the body 
should not be raised up and continued, if it should 
not share in the glory. As it hath shared in the 
obedience and sufferings, so shall it also in the bless- 
edness. As Christ bought the whole man, so shall 
the whole partake of the everlasting benefits of the 
purchase. O blessed employment of a glorified bo- 
dy ! to stand before the throne of God and the Lamb, 
and to sound forth for ever, " Thou art worthy. O 



THE SAINTS' REST. 



Lord, to receive glory, and honor, and power. 
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, 
and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, 
and glory, and blessing ; for thou hast redeemed us 
to God, by thy blood, out of every kindred, and 
tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us 
unto our God kings and priests. Alleluia; salva- 
tion, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the 
Lord our God. Alleluia, for the Lord God omni- 
potent reigneth." O, Christians ! this is the blessed 
rest ; a rest, as it were, without rest ; for " they rest 
not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy Lord 
God Almighty, who was, and is ? and is to come." 
And if the body shall be thus employed, O how shall 
the soul be taken up ! As its powers and capacities 
are greatest, so its actions are strongest, and its en- 
joyments sweetest. As the bodily senses have their 
proper actions, whereby they receive and enjoy their 
objects, so does the soul in its own actions enjoy its 
own objects, by knowing, remembering, loving, and 
delightful joying. This is the soul's enjoyment. By 
these eyes it sees, and by these arms it embraces. 

Knowledge, of itself, is very desirable. As far as 
the rational soul exceeds the sensitive, so far the de- 
lights of a philosopher, in discovering the secrets of 
nature, and knowing the mystery of sciences, exceed 
the delights of the glutton, the drunkaid, the un- 
clean, and of all voluptuous' sensualists whatsoever. 
So excellent is all truth. What, then, is their de- 



34 NATURE OF 

light who know the God of truth ! How noble a fa- 
culty of the soul is the understanding ! It can com- 
pass the earth ; it can measure the sun, moon, stars, 
and heaven ; it can foreknow each eclipse to a mi- 
nute, many years before. But this is the top of all 
its excellency, that it can know God, who is infinite, 
who made all these — a little here, and more,' much 
more, hereafter. O the wisdom and goodness of our 
blessed Lord ! He hath created the understanding 
with a natural bias and inclination to truth, as its 
object; and to the principal truth, as its chief object. 
Christian, when, after Jong gazing heaven-ward, 
thou hast got a glimpse of Christ, dost thou not 
sometimes seem to have been with Paul in the third 
heaven, whether in the body or out, and to have seen 
what is unutterable ? Art thou not, with Peter, ready 
to say, " Master, it is good to be here V* "O that I 
might dwell in this mount! O that I might ever see 
what I now see !" Didst thou never look so long 
upon the Sun of Righteousness, till thine eyes were 
dazzled with his astonishing glory? And did not 
the splendor of it make all things below seem dark 
and drear to thee? Especially in the day of suffer- 
ing for Christ, when he usually appears, most mani- 
festly to his people, didst thou never see one walk- 
ing in the midst of the fiery furnace with thee, like 
the Son of God? Believe me, Christians, yea, be- 
lieve God ; you that have known most of God in 
Christ here, it is as nothing to what you shall know* 



THE SAINTS* REST. 35 

it scarce, in comparison of that, deserves to be called 
knowledge. For as these bodies, so that knowledge 
must cease, that a more perfect may succeed. Know- 
ledge shall vanish away. For we know in part. 
But when that which is perfect is come, then that 
which is in part shall be done away. When I was 
a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, 
I thought as a child ; but, when I became a man, 1 
put away childish things. For now we see through 
a glass darkly, but then face to face; now I know 
in part, but then shall I know, even as also I am 
known. Marvel not, therefore, Christian, how it can 
be life eternal to know God and Jesus Christ. To 
enjoy God and Christ is eternal life ; and the soul's 
enjoying is in. knowing. They that savor only of 
earth, and consult with flesh, think it a poor happi- 
ness to know God. But we know that we are of 
God, and the whole w r orld lieth in wickedness: and 
we know that the Son of God is come, and hath 
given us an understanding, that we may know him 
that is true ; and w^e are in him that is true, even in 
his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and 
eternal life. 

The memory will not be idle, or useless, in this 
blessed work. From chat height the saint can look 
behind him and before him. And to compare past 
with present things must needs raise in the blessed 
soul an inconceivable esteem and sense of its condi- 
tion. To stand on that mount, whence we can see 



36 NATURE OF 

the Wilderness and Canaan both at once; to stand 
in Heaven and look back on earth, and weigh them 
together in the balance of a comparing sense and 
judgment, how must it needs transport the soul, and 
make it cry out, " Is this the purchase that cost so 
dear as the blood of Christ? No wonder, O blessed 
price ! and thrice blessed love, that invented and 
condescended ! Is this the end of believing ? Is this 
the end of the Spirit's workings? Have the, gales 
of grace blown me into such a harbor ? Is it hither 
that Christ hath allured my soul ? O blessed way, 
and thrice blessed end ! Is this the glory which the 
Scriptures spoke of, and ministers preached of so 
much ? I see the Gospel is indeed good tidings, 
even tidings of peace and good things, tidings oi 
great joy to all nations ! Is my mourning, my fast- 
ing, my sad hurnblmgs, my heavy walking, come to 
this ? Is my praying, watching, fearing to offend, 
come to this ? Are all my afflictions, Satan's temp- 
tations, the world's scorns and jeers, come to this? 
O vile nature, that resisted so much, and so long, 
such a blessing! Unworthy soul ! is this the place 
thou earnest so unwillingly to ? Was duty weari- 
some ? Was the world too good to lose ? Didst thou 
stick at leaving all, denying all, and suffering any 
thins: for this? Wast thou loth to die, to come to 
this? O false heart, tnou hacist almost betrayed me 
to eternal flames, and lost me this glory ! Art thou 
not now ashamed, my soul, that ever thou dids: 



THE SAINTS 5 REST. 37 

question that love which brought thee hither ? that 
thou wast jealous of the faithfulness of thy Lord ? 
that thou suspectedst his love, when thou shouldst 
only have suspected thyself? that ever thou didst 
quench a motion of his Spirit 2 and that thou shouldst 
misinterpret those providences, and repine at those 
ways, which have such an end ? Now thou art suf- 
ficiently convinced that thy blessed Redeemer was 
saving thee, as well when he crossed thy desires as 
when he granted them : when he broke thy heart, 
as when he bound it up. No thanks to thee, un- 
worthy self, for this received crown ; but to Jehovah 
and the Lamb be glory for ever," 

But, O! the full, the near, the sweet enjoyment, 
is that of love. God is love, and he that dwelleth in 
k>ve dwelleth in God, and God in him. Now the 
poor soul complains, M O that I could love Christ 
more!" then thou canst not choose but love him. 
Now, thou knowest little of his amiableness, and 
therefore lovest little: then, thine eyes will affect 
thy heart, and the continual viewing of that perfect 
beauty will keep thee in continual transports of love. 
Christians, doth it not now stir up your love, to remem- 
ber all the experiences of his love? Doth not kind- 
ness melt you, and the sunshine of divine goodness 
warm your frozen hearts? What will it do then, 
when you shall live in love, and have all in him, 
who is all ? Surely love is both work and wag-es. 
What a high favor, that God will give us leave tj 

A Saints' Rest. 



38 NATURE OF 

love him ! that he will be- embraced by those who 
have embraced lust and sin before him ! But, more 
than this, he returneth love for love ; nay, a thou- 
sand times more. Christian, thou wilt be then brim- 
full of love; yet, love as much as thou canst, thou 
shalt be ten thousand times more beloved. Were the 
arms of the Son of God open upon the cross, and an 
open passage made to his heart by the spear ; and 
will not his arms and heart be open to thee in glory? 
Did not he begin to love before thou lovedst, and 
will not he continue now ? Did he love thee, an en- 
emy? thee, a sinner? thee, who even loathedst thy- 
self? and own thee, when thou didst disclaim thy- 
self? And will he not now immeasurably love thee 
a son? thee, a perfect saint? thee, who returned st 
some love for love ? He that in love wept over the 
old Jerusalem when near its ruin, with what love 
will he rejoice over the new Jerusalem in her glory ! . 
Christian, believe this, and think on it: thou shalt 
be eternally embraced in the arms of that love which 
was from everlasting, and will extend to everlasting ; 
of that love which brought the Son of God's love 
from heaven to earth, from earth to the cross, from 
the cross to the grave, from the grave to glory ; that 
love which was weary, hungry, tempted, scorned, 
scourged, buffeted, spit upon, crucified, pierced ; 
which did fast, pray, teach, heal, weep, sweat, bleed, 
die ; that love will eternally embrace thee. When 
perfect created love and most perfect uncreated love 



THE SAINTS REST. 39 

meet together, it will not be like Joseph and his 
brethren, who lay upon one another's necks weep- 
ing* ; it will be loving and rejoicing, not loving and 
sorrowing. Yet it will make Satan's court ring with 
the news that Joseph's brethren are come, that the 
saints are arrived safe at the bosom of Christ, out of 
the reach of hell for ever. Nor is there any such 
love as David's and Jonathan's, breathing out its 
last into sad lamentations for a forced separation. 
Know this, believer, to thy everlasting comfort, if 
those arms have once embraced thee, neither sin nor 
hell can get thee thence for ever. Thou hast not to 
deal with an inconstant creature, but with him with 
whom is no variableness nor shadow of turning. 
His love to thee will not be as thine was on earth 
to him, seldom, and cold, up and down. He that 
would not cease nor abate his love, for all thine en- 
mity, unkind neglects, and churlish resistances, can 
he cease to love thee, when he hath made thee truly 
lovely? He that keepeth thee so constant in thy 
love to him, that thou, canst challenge tribulation, 
distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or 
sword, to separate thy love from Christ, how much 
more will he himself be constant! Indeed thou mayest 
be persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, 
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, 
nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any 
other creature, shall be able to separate us from the 
love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 



40 THE NATURE OF 

Arid now, are we not left in the apostle's admiration? 
What shall Ave say to these things'? Infinite love 
must needs be a mystery to a finite capacity. No 
wonder angels desire to look into this mystery. And 
if it be the study of saints here to know the breadth, 
and length, and depth, and height of the lo>i3 of 
Christ/ which passeth knowledge ; the saints' ever- 
lasting rest must consist in the enjoyment of God 
by love. 

Nor hath joy the least share in this fruition. It 
is that which all the former lead to, and conclude 
in; even the inconceivable complacency which the 
blessed feel in their seeing, knowing, loving, and 
being beloved of God. This is the while stone 
which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it 
Surely this is the joy which a stranger dom not in- 
termeddle with. All Christ's ways of mercy tend 
to and end in the saints' joys. He wept, sorrowed, 
suffered, that they might rejoice; he sendeth the 
Spirit to be their comforter; he multiplies promises- 
he discovers their future happiness, that their joy 
may be full. He opens to them the fountain of liv- 
ing waters, that they may thirst no more, and that 
it may spring up in them to everlasting life. He 
chastens them that he may give them rest. He 
makes it their duty to rejoice in him always, and 
again commands them to rejoice. He never brings 
them into so low a condition, wherein he does not 
leave them more cause of joy than sorrow. Amd 



THE SAINTS 1 REST. 41 

hath the Lord such a care of our comfort here ? O 
what will that joy be, where the soul, being perfectly 
prepared for joy, and joy prepared by Christ for the 
soul, it shall be our work, our business, eternally to 
rejoice! It seems the saints' joy shall be greater 
than the damned' s torment ; for their torment is the 
torment of creatures, prepared for the devil and his 
angels ; but our joy is the joy of our Lord. The 
same glory which the Father gave the Son, the Son 
hath given them, to sit with him in his throne, even 
as he is set down with his Father in his throne. 
Thou, poor soul, who prayesi for joy, waitest for joy, 
complainest for want of joy, longest for joy ; thou 
then shall have full joy, as much as thou canst hold, 
and more than ever thou thoughtest on, or thy heart 
desired. In the meantime, walk carefully; watch 
constantly, and then let God measure out to thee 
thy times and degrees of joy. It may be he keeps 
them until thou hast more need. Thou hadst better 
lose thy comfort than thy safety. If thou shouldst 
die full of fears and sorrows, it will be but a moment, 
and they are all gone, and concluded in joy incon- 
ceivable. As the joy of the hypocrite, so the fears 
of the upright are but for a moment. "God's anger 
endureth but a moment ; in his favor is life ; weep- 
ing may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the 
morning." O blessed morning! Poor, humble, droop- 
ing soul, how would it fill thee with joy now, if a 
voice from heaven should tell thee of the love of God, 
s. r. 4* 



42 THE NATURE OF 

the pardon of thy sins, and assure thee of thy par! 
in these joys ! What then will thy joy be, when thy 
actual possession shall convince thee of thy title, and 
thou shalt be in heaven before thou art well aware ! 
And it is not thy joy only ; it is a mutual joy, as 
well as a mutual love. Is there joy in heaven at 
thy conversion, and will there be none at thy glori- 
fication ? Will not the angels welcome thee thither, 
and congratulate thy safe arrival? — Yes, it is the 
joy of Jesus Christ; for now he hath the end of his 
undertaking, labor, suffering, dying, when we have 
our joys; when he is glorified in his saints, and 
admired in all them that believe; when he sees of the 
travail of his soul, and is satisfied. This is Christ's 
harvest, when he shall reap the fruit of his labors ; 
and it will not repent him concerning his sufferings, 
but he will rejoice over his purchased inheritance, 
and his people will rejoice in him. — Yea, the Father 
himself puts on joy, too, in our joy. As we grieve 
his Spirit, and weary him with our iniquities, so he 
is rejoiced in our good. O how quickly does he 
now spy a returning prodigal, even afar ofT ! How 
does he run and meet him! And with what com- 
passion does he fall on his neck, and kiss him, and 
put on him the best robe, and a ring on his hand, 
and shoes on his feet, and kills the fatted calf, to eat 
and be merry! This is indeed a happy meeting; 
but nothing to the embracing and joy of that last 
and great meeting. Yea, more; as God doth mu- 



the saints' rest. 43 

lually love and joy, so he makes this his rest, as it 
is our rest. What an eternal Sabbatism, when the 
work of redemption, sanctification, preservation, glo- 
rification, is all finished, and perfected for ever! 
44 The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; 
he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy, he 
will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with sing- 
ing." Well may we then rejoice in our God with 
joy, and rest in our love, and joy in him with 
singing. 

Alas ! my fearful heart scarce dares proceed. Me- 
thinks I hear the Almighty's voice saying to me, 
14 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words with- 
out knowledge?" But pardon thy servant, O Lord. 
1 have not pried into unrevealed things. I bewail 
that my apprehensions are so dull, my thoughts so 
mean, my affections so stupid, and my expressions 
so low, and unbecoming such a glory. I have only 
heard by the hearing of the ear: O let thy servant 
see thee, and possess these joys; and then shall I 
have more suitable conceptions, and shall give thee 
fuller glory ; I shall abhor my present self, and dis- 
claim and renounce all these imperfections. 44 1 have 
uttered that 1 understood not, things too wonderful 
for me, which I knew not." Yet 44 I believed, and 
therefore have I spoken." What, Lord, canst thou 
expect from dust, but levity? or from corruption, but 
defilement? Though the weakness and irreverence 
be the fruit of my own corruption, yet the fire is 



44 THE PREPARATIVES 

from thine altar, and the work of thy commanding. 
I looked not into thy ark, nor put forth my hand 
unto it without thee. Wash away these stains also 
in the blood of the Lamb. Imperfect, or none must 
be thy service here. O take thy Son's excuse, "the 
c*~'~kis willing, but the flesh is weak." 



CHAPTER II 



There are four things which principally prepare the way to 
enter into it; particularly, 1. The glorious appearing of 
Christ ; 2. The general resurrection ; 3. The last judg- 
ment ; and, 4. The saints' coronation 

The passage of paradise is not now so blocked 
up as when the law and curse reigned. Wherefore 
rinding, beloved Christians, a new and living way 
consecrated for us, through the vail, that is to say, 
the flesh of Christ, by which w r e may with boldness 
enter into the holiest, I shall draw near with fuller 
assurance ; and, finding the flaming sword remov- 
ed, shall look again into the paradise of our God. 
And because I know that this is no forbidden fruit, 
and withal that it is good for food, and pleasant to 
the spiritual eyes, and a tree to be desired to make 
one truly wise and happy; I shall, through the as- 
sistance of the Spirit, take and eat thereof myself, 



F >R THE SAINTS' REST. 45 

and give to you, according to my power, that you 
may eat. The porch of this temple is exceeding 
glorious, and the gate of it is called Beautiful. Here 
are four things as t he four corners of this porch. Here 
is the most glorious coming and appearance of the 
Son of God ; that great work of Jesus Christ in rais- 
ing our bodies from the dust, and uniting them again 
to the soul; — the public and solemn process at their 
judgment, where they shal] first themselves be ac- 
quitted and justified, and then with. Christ judge the 
world; together with their solemn coronation, and 
receiving the kingdom. 

1. The most glorious coming and appearance of 
the Son of God may well be reckoned in his peo- 
ple's glory. For their sake he came into the world, 
suffered, died, rose, ascended ; and for their sake it 
is that he will return. To this end will Christ 
come again to receive his people unto himself, that 
where he is, there they may be also. The bride- 
groom's departure was not upon divorce. He did 
not leave us with a purpose to return no more. He 
hath left pledges enough to assure us to the contrary. 
We have his word, his many promises, his ordinan- 
ces, which show forth his death till he come ; and 
his Spirit, to direct, sanctify, and comfort, till lie re- 
turn. We have frequent tokens of love from him, 
to show us he forgets not his promise, nor us. We 
daily behold the forerunners of his coming, foretold 
by himself We see the fig-tree putteth forth leaves, 



46 THE PREPARATIVES. 

and therefore know that summer is nigh. Though 
the riotous would say, My Lord delay eth his com- 
ing; yet let the saints lift up their heads, for their 
redemption draweth nigh. Alas! fellow- Christians, 
what should we do if our Lord should not return? 
What a case are we here left in ! What ! leave us in 
the midst of wolves, and among lions, a generation 
of vipers, and here forget us ! Did he buy us so 
dear, and then leave us sinning, suffering, groaning, 
dying daily; and will he come no more to us? It 
cannot be. This is like our unkind dealing with 
Christ, who, when we feel ourselves warm in the 
world, care not for coming to him; but this is not 
iike Christ's dealing with us. He that would come to 
suffer, will surely come to triumph. He that would 
come to purchase, will surely come to possess. Where 
else were all our hopes ? W T hat were become of our 
faith, our prayers, our tears and our waiting ? What 
were all the patience of the saints worth to them ? 
Were we not left of all men the most miserable ? 
Christians, hath Christ made us forsake all the 
world, and be forsaken of all the world ? to hate all, 
and be hated of all ? and all this for him, that we 
might have him instead of all ? And will he, think 
you, after all this, forget us, and forsake us himself? 
Far be such a thought from our hearts ! But why 
staid he not with his people while he was here? 
Why? Was not the work on earth done? Must he 
not take possession of glory in our behalf? Must he 



FOR THE SAINTS 5 REST. 47 

not intercede with, the Father, plead his sufferings, 
be rilled with the Spirit to send forth, receive autho- 
rity, and subdue his enemies'? Our abode here is 
short. If he had staid on earth, what would it have 
been to enjoy him for a few days and then die % He 
hath more in heaven to dwell among; even the 
spirits of many generations. He will have us live 
by faith, and not by sight. 

O, fellow-Christians, what a day will that be, 
when we, who have been kept prisoners by sin, by 
sinners, by the grave, shall be brought out by the 
Lord himself! It will not be such a coming as his 
first was, in poverty and contempt, to be spit upon, 
and buffeted, and crucified again. He will not come, 
O careless world ! to be slighted and neglected by 
you any more. Yet that coming wanted not its 
glory. If the heavenly host, for the celebration of 
his nativity, must praise God ; with what shoutings 
will angels and saints at that day proclaim glory to 
God, peace and good-will toward men ! If a star 
must lead men from remote parts of the world, to 
come to worship a child in a manger ; how will the 
glory of his next appearing constrain all the world 
to acknowledge his sovereignty! If, riding on an 
ass, he enter Jerusalem with hosannas ; with what 
peace and glory will he come toward the New- 
Jerusalem ! If, when he was in the form of a ser- 
vant, they cry out, "What manner of man is this, 
that even the winds and sea obey him ?" what will 



48 THE PREPARATIVES 

they say, when they shall see him coming m his 
glory, and the heavens and the earth obey him % 
44 Then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn." To 
think and speak of that day with horror, doth well 
beseem the impenitent sinner, but ill the believing 
saint. Shall the wicked behold him, and cry, " Yon- 
der is he whose blood we neglected, whoso grace 
we resisted, whose counsel we refused, whose go 
vernment we cast off!" and shall not the saints, 
with inconceivable gladness, cry, " Yonder is he 
whose blood redeemed us, whose Spirit cleansed us, 
whose law did govern us ; in whom we trusted, and 
he hath not deceived our trust ; for whom we long 
waited, and now we see we have not w r aited in vain ! 
O cursed corruption ! that would have had us turn 
to the w r orld and present things, and say, Why should 
we wait for the Lord any longer? Now we see, 
Blessed are all they that w^ait for him." And now, 
Christians, should we not put up that petition hear- 
tily, " Thy kingdom come ? The Spirit and the 
bride say, Come: and let him that heareth," and 
readeth, "say, Come," Our Lord himself says, 
44 Surely I come quickly. Amen/ even so, come ! 
Lord Jesus." 

2. Another thing that leads to paradise is, that 
great work of Jesus Christ, hi raising our bodies 
from, the dust, and uniting them again unto the sou L 
A wonderful effect of infinite power and love! Yea, 
wonderful indeed, says Unbelief, if it be true. IV bat, 



FOR THE SAINTS' REST. 49 

shall all these scattered bones and dust become a 
man ? Let me with reverence plead for God, for 
that power whereby I hope to arise. What beareth 
„ the massy body of the earth ? What limits the vast 
ocean of the waters ? Whence is that constant ebbing 
and flowing of the tides ? How many times bigger 
than all the earth is the sun, that glorious body of 
light ? Is it not as easy to raise the dead as to make 
heaven and earth, and all of nothing ? Look not on 
the dead bones, and dust, and difficulty, but at the 
promise. Contentedly commit these bodies to a 
prison that shall not long contain them. Let us 
lie down in peace and take our rest ; it will not be 
an everlasting night, nor endless sleep. If unclothing 
be the thing thou fear est, it is that thou mayest have 
better clothing. If to be turned out of doors be the 
thing thou fearest, remember that, when the earthly 
house of this tabernacle is dissolved, thou hast a 
building of God, a house not made with hands, eter- 
nal in the heavens. Lay down cheerfully this lump 
of corruption ; thou shalt undoubtedly receive it 
again in incorruption. Lay down freely this terres- 
trial, this natural body ; thou shalt receive it again 
a celestial, a spiritual body. Though thou lay it 
down with great dishonor, thou shalt receive it in 
glory. Though thou art separated from it through 
weakness, it shall be raised again in mighty power ; 
\n a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last 
trump ; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead 

c Saints' Rest. 



50 THE PREPARATIVES 

shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be chang- 
ed. " The dead in Christ shall rise first. Then 
they who are alive and remain, shall be caught up 
together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord 
in the air." Triumph now, O Christian, in these 
promises ; thou shalt shortly triumph in their per- 
formance. This is the day which the Lord will 
make; we shall rejoice and be glad in it. The 
grave that could not keep our Lord, cannot keep us. 
He arose for us, and by the same power will cause 
us to arise. For if we believe that Jesus died and 
rose again, even so, them also who sleep in Jesus, 
will God bring with him. Let us never look at the 
grave, but let us see the resurrection beyond it. Yea, 
let us be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in 
the work of the Lord, forasmuch as we know our 
abor is not in vain in the Lord. 

3. Part of this prologue to the saints' rest is the 
public and solemn process at their judgment, where 
they shall first themselves be acquitted and justified, 
and then with Christ judge the world. Young and 
old, of all estates and nations, that ever were from 
the creation to that day, must here come, and receive 
their doom. O terrible ! O joyful day! Terrible 
to those that have forgotten the coming of their Lord ! 
joyful to the saints, whose waiting and hope was to 
see this day ! Then shall the world behold the good- 
ness and severity of God ; on them who perish, seve- 
rity ; but to his chosen, goodness. Everyone must 



FOR THE 'SAINTS REST. 51 

give an account of his stewardship. Every talent 
of time, health, wit, mercies, afflictions, means, warn- 
ings, must be reckoned for. The sins of youth, 
those which they had forgotten, and their secret sins, 
shall ail be laid open before angels and men. They 
shall see the Lord Jesus, whom they neglected, 
whose word they disobeyed, whose ministers they 
abused, whose servants they hated, now sitting to 
judge them. Their own consciences shall cry out 
against them, and call to their remembrance all their 
misdoings. Which way will the wretched sinner 
look 'I Who can conceive the terrible thoughts of 
his heart % Now the world cannot help him ; his 
old companions cannot ; the saints neither can nor 
will. Only the Lord Jesus can ; but there is the 
misery, he will not. Time was, sinner, when 
Christ would, and you would not ; now, fain would 
you, and he will not. All in vain, to cry to the 
mountains and rocks, fall on us, and hide us from 
the face of him that sitteth upon the throne ; for thou 
hast the Lord of mountains and rocks for thine 
enemy, whose voice they will obey, and not thine. 
I charge thee, therefore, before God, and the Lord 
Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the 
dead at his appearing, and his kingdom, that thou 
set thyself seriously to ponder on these things. 

But why tremblest thou, O humble, gracious soul? 
He that would not lose one Noah in a common de- 
luge, nor overlook one Lot in Sodom; nay, that 



o2 THE PREPARATIVES 

could do nothing till he went forth ; will he fonret 
thee at that day? The Lord knoweth how to deli- 
ver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the 
unjust unto the day of judgment, to be punished. 
He knoweth how to make the same day the great- 
est terror to his foes, and yet the greatest joy to his 
people. There is no condemnation to them that are 
in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but 
after the Spirit. Who shall lay any thing to the 
charge of God's elect ? Shall the law ? The law of 
the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made them free 
from the law of sin and death. Or shall conscience? 
The Spirit itself beareth witness with their spirit, that 
they are the children of God. It is God that justifi- 
eth, who is he that condemneth ?" If our Judge con- 
demn us not, who shall ? He that said to the adul- 
terous woman, Hath no man condemned thee ? Nei- 
ther do I ; will say to us, more faithfully than Petei 
to him, Though all men deny thee, cr condemn thee, I 
will not. Having confessed me before men, thee " wi 11 
I also confess before my Father who is in heaven." 
What inexpressible joy, that our dear Lord, who 
loveth our souls, and whom our souls love, shall be 
our Judge ! Will a man fear to be judged by his 
dearest friend ? or a wife by her own husband ? 
Christian, did Christ come down and suffer, and 
weep, and bleed, and die for thee, and will he now 
condemn thee? Was he judged, condemned, and 
executed in thy stead, and now will he condemn thee 



FOR THE SAINTS 7 REST. 53 

himself? Hath he done most of the work already, 
in redeeming, regenerating, sanctifying and preserv- 
ing thee, and will he now undo all again % Well 
then, let the terror of that day be never so great, 
surely our Lord can mean no ill to us in all. Let it 
make the devils tremble, and the wicked tremble, 
but it shall make us leap for joy. It must needs af- 
fect us deeply with the sense of our mercy and hap- 
piness, to see the most of the world tremble with 
terror, while we triumph with joy ; to hear them 
doomed to everlasting flames, when we are pro- 
claimed heirs of the kingdom; to see our neigh- 
3£ bors, that lived in the same towns, came to the same 
congregation, dwelt in the same houses, and were 
esteemed more honorable in the world than our- 
selves, now, by the Searcher of hearts, eternally se- 
parated. This, with the great magnificence and 
dreadfulness of the day, the apostle pathetically ex- 
presses : " It is a righteous thing with God to re- 
compense tribulation to them that trouble you ; and 
to you who are troubled, rest with us, when the 
Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, with his 
mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on 
them that know not God, and that obey not the Gos- 
pel of our Lord Jesus Christ ; who shall be pun- 
ished with everlasting destruction from the presence 
of the Lord, and from the glory of his power ; when 
he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be 
admired in all them that believe, in that day." 

S. R. 5* 



54 THE PREPARATIVES . 

Yet more : we shall be so far from the dread of 
that judgment, that ourselves shall become the judges. 
Christ will take his people, as it were, into commis- 
sion with himself, and they shall sit and approve his 
righteous judgment. Do you not know that tile 
saints will judge the world ? Nay, " know ye not 
that we shall judge angels?" Were it not for the 
word of Christ that speaks it, this advancement 
would seem incredible, and the language arrogant. 
Even Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied 
this, saying, "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten 
thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon 
all, and to convince all that are ungodly among 
them, of all their ungodly deeds which they have 
imgodlily committed, and of all their hard speeches 
which ungodly sinners have spoken against him." 
Thus shall the saints be honored, and the upright 
shall have dominion in the morning. O that the. 
careless world " were wise, that they understood 
this, that they would consider their latter end !" that 
they would be now of the same mind as they will 
be when they shall see the heavens pass away with 
a great noise, and the elements melt with fervent 
heat, and the earth also, and the works that are 
therein, burnt up! when all shall be in fire about 
their ears, and all earthly glory consumed. For the 
heavens and the earth which are now, are reserved 
unto fire against the day of judgment, and perdition 
of ungodly men. "Seeing then, that all these things 



FOR THE SAINTS' REST. 55 

shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye 
to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking 
for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, 
wherein the heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolv- 
ed, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat ? 51 

4. The last preparative for the saints' rest is their 
solemn coronation and receiving the kingdom. For, 
as Christ, their Head, is anointed both King and 
Priest, so under him are his people made unto God 
both kings and priests, to reign, and to offer praises 
for ever. The crown of righteousness, which was 
laid up for them, shall by the Lord, the righteous 
Judge, be given them at that day. They have been 
faithful unto death, and therefore he will give them 
a crown of life. And according to the improvement 
-of their talents here, so shall their rule and dignity 
be enlarged. They are not dignified with empty ti- 
tles, but real dominion. Christ will grant them to 
sit wfth him on his throne, and will give them power 
over the nations, even as he received of his Father ; 
and he "will give them the morning star.'' The 
Lord himself will give them possession, with these 
applauding expressions : " Well done, good and 
faithful servant ; thou hast been faithful over a few 
things, I will make thee ruler over many things ; 
enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." 

And with this solemn and blessed proclamation 
shall he enthrone them : u Come, ye blessed of my 
Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from 



56 THE PREPARATIVES 

the foundation of the world." Every word is full of 
life and joy. " Come" — this is the holding forth of 
the golden sceptre, to warrant our approach unto 
this glory. Come now as near as you will ; fear not 
the Bethshemite's judgment; for the enmity is utterly 
abolished. This is not such a " Come " as we were 
wont to hear, " Come, take up your cross, and fol- 
low me." Though that was sweet, yet this is much 
more. " Ye blessed " — blessed indeed, when that 
mouth shall so pronounce us! For though the 
world hath accounted us accursed, and we have 
heen ready to account ourselves so ; yet, certainly, 
those that he blesseth are blessed ; and thosefwhom 
he curseth, only are cursed ; and his blessing can- 
not be reversed. " Of my Father " — blessed in the 
Father's love, as well as the Son's; for they are one. 
The Father hath testified his love in their election, 
donation to Christ, sending of Christ, and accepting 
his ransom, as the Son hath also testified his. ' " In- 
herit " — no longer bondsmen, nor servants only, nor 
children under age, who differ not in possession, but 
only in title, from servants ; but now we are heirs of 
the kingdom, and joint-heirs with Christ. "The 
kingdom" — no less than the kingdom! Indeed, to 
be King of kings and Lord of lords, is our Lord's 
own proper title ; but to be kings, and reign with 
him, is ours. The enjoyment of this kingdom is as 
the light of the sun ; each has the whole, and the 
rest none the less " Prepared for you " — God is 



FOR THE SAINTS' REST. 57 

.the Alpha as well as the Omega of our blessedness. 
.Eternal love hath laid the foundation. He prepared 
the kingdom for us, and then prepared us for the 
kingdom. This is the preparation of his counsel 
and decree ; for the execution whereof Christ was 
yet to make a further preparation. " For you " — not 
for believers only, in general, who, without indivi- 
dual persons, are nobody ; but for you personally. 
'From the foundation of the world" — not only 
from the promise after Adam's fall, but from eternity. 
Thus we have seen the Christian safely landed 
in Paradise, and conveyed honorably to his rest. 
Now let us a little further, in the next chapter, view 
those mansions, consider their privileges, and see 
whether there be any glory like unto this glory. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE EXCELLENCIES OP THE SAINTS' REST. 

I. It is the purchased possession ; 2. Jl free gift ; 3. Peculiar to 
saints ; 4. An association with saints and angels ; 5. It de- 
rives its joys immediately from God himself. 6. It will be 
seasonable ; 7. Suitable ; 8. Perfect^ without sin and suffer- 
ing ; 9. And everlasting. 

Let us draw a little nearer, and see what further 
excellencies this rest affordeth. The Lord hide us 



58 THE EXCELLENCIES OF 

in the clefts of the rock, and cover us with the hands 
of indulgent grace, while we approach to take this 
view. This rest is excellent, for being a purchased 
possession ; a free gift ; peculiar to saints ; an asso- 
ciation with saints and angels ; yet deriving its joys 
immediately from God ; and because it will be a 
seasonable, suitable, perfect, and eternal rest. 

1 . It is a most singular honor of the saints' rest, 
to be called the purchased possession; that is, the 
fruit of the blood of the Son of God ; yea, the chief 
fruit, the end and perfection of all the fruits and effi- 
cacy of that blood. Greater love than this there is 
not, to lay down the life of the lover. And to have 
this our Redeemer ever before our eyes, and the live- 
liest sense and freshest remembrance of that dying, 
bleeding love, still upon our souls ! How will it nil 
our souls with perpetual joy, to think, that in the 
streams of this blood we have swum through the 
violence of the world, the snares of Satan, the se- 
ductions of the flesh, the curse of the law, the wrath 
of an offended God, the accusations of a guilty con- 
science, and the vexing doubts and fears of an unbe- 
lieving heart, and are arrived safely at the presence 
of God t Now he cries to us, " Is it nothing to you, 
all ye that pass by? behold, and see if there be any 
sorrow like unto my sorrow!" And we scarce re- 
gard the mournful voice, and scarce turn aside to 
view the wounds. But then our perfected souls will 
feel, and flame in love for love. With what aston- 



the saints' rest. 59 

ishing apprehensions will redeemed saints everlast- 
ingly behold their blessed Redeemer ! the purcha- 
ser, and the price, together with the possession ! 
Neither will the view of his wounds of love renew 
our wounds of sorrow. He, whose first words after 
his resurrection were to a great sinner, "Woman, 
why weepest thou ?" knows how to raise love and 
joy, without any cloud of sorrow or storm of tears. 
If any thing we enjoy was purchased with the life 
of our dearest friend, how highly should Ave value 
it ! If a dying friend deliver us but a token of his 
love, how carefully do we preserve it, and still re- 
member him when we behold it, as if his own name 
were written on it ! And will not, then, the death 
and blood of our Lord everlastingly sweeten our 
possessed glory? As we write down the price our 
goods cost us ; so, on our righteousness and glory 
write down the price, The precious blood of Christ. 
His sufferings were to satisfy the justice that re- 
quired blood, and to bear what was due to sinners, 
and so to restore them to the life they lost, and the 
happiness they fell from. The work of Christ's re- 
demption so well pleased the Father, that he gave 
him power to advance his chosen, and give them 
the glory which was given to himself; and all this 
*' according to his good pleasure, and the counsel of 
his own will." 

2. Another pearl in the saints' diadem is, that it 
is a free gift. These two, purchased and free, are 



60 THE EXCELLENCIES OF 

the chains of gold which make up the wreaths fcr 
the tops of the pillars in the temple of God. It was 
dear to Christ, but free to us. When Christ was to 
buy, silver and gold were nothing worth; prayers 
and tears could not suffice, nor any thing below his 
blood ; but our buying is receiving ; we have it free* 
ly, without money and without price. A thankful 
acceptance of a free acquittance is no paying of the 
debt. Here is all free ; if the Father freely give the 
Son, and the Son freely pay the debt ; and if God 
freely accept that way of payment, when he might 
have required it of the principal ; and if both Father 
and Son freely offer us the purchased life on our 
cordial acceptance ; and if they freely send the Spirit 
to enable us to accept ; what is here, then, that is not 
free ? O the everlasting admiration that must needs 
surprise the saints to think of this freeness ! " What 
did the Lord see in me, that he should judge me 
meet for such a state? That I, who was but a poor 
diseased, despised wretch, should be clad in the 
brightness of this glory ! That I, a creeping worm, 
should be advanced to this high dignity ! That I, 
who was but lately groaning, weeping, dying, should 
now be as full of joy as my heart can hold ! yea, 
should be taken from the grave, where I was decay- 
ing, and from the dust and darkness where I seem- 
ed forgotten, and be here set before his throne 
That I should be taken, w T ith Mordecai, from capti- 
vity, and be set next unto the king: and, with Daniel 



THE SAINTS' REST. 61 

from the den, to be made ruler of princes and pro- 
vinces ! Who can fathom immeasurable love ? l If 
worthiness were our condition for admittance, we 
might sit down and weep, with St. John, because no 
man was found worthy. But the Lion of the tribe 
of Judah is worthy, and hath prevailed ; and by that 
title we must hold the inheritance. We shall offer 
there the offering that David refused, even praise for 
that which cost us nothing. Here our commission 
runs, Freely ye have received, freely give; but 
Christ has dearly bought, yet freely gives. 

If it were only for nothing, and without our me- 
rit, the wonder were great ; but it is moreover against 
our merit, and against our long endeavoring our 
own ruin. What an astonishing thought it will be, 
to think of the unmeasurable difference between our 
deservings and receivings! between the state we 
should have been in, and the state we are in ! to 
look down upon hell, and see the vast difference that 
grace hath made between us and them ! to see the 
inheritance there, which we were born to, so differ- 
ent from that which we are adopted to ! What pangs 
of love will it cause within us to think, " Yonder 
was the place that sin would have brought me to ; 
but this is it that Christ hath brought me to ! Yonder 
death was the wages of my sin, but this eternal life 
is the gift of God, through Jesus Christ my Lord. 
Who made me to differ ? Had I not now been in 
those flames, if I had had my own way, and been 

g Saints' Rest. 



62 THE EXCELLENCIES OF 

let alone to my own will? Should I rot have lin- 
gered in Sodom till the flames had seized on me, if 
God had not in mercy brought me out #? Doubtless 
this will be our everlasting admiration, that so rich 
a crown should fit the head of so vile a sinner ; that 
such high advancement, and such long unfruitfulness 
and unkindness, can be the state of the same person, 
and that such vile rebellions can conclude in such 
most precious joys ! But no thanks to us, nor to any 
of our duties and labors, much less to our neglects 
and laziness : we know to whom the praise is due, 
and must be given for ever. Indeed, to this very end 
it was that infinite wisdom cast the whole design of 
man's salvation into this mold of purchase andfree- 
ness, that the love and joy of man might be perfected, 
and the honor of grace most highly advanced ; that 
the thought of merit might neither cloud the one nor 
obstruct the other ; and that on these two hinges the 
gate of heaven might turn. So then, let deserved 
be written on the door of hell ; but on the door of 
heaven and life, the free gift. 

3. This rest is peculiar to saints, belongs to no 
other of all the sons of men. If all Egypt had been 
light, the Israelites would not have had, the less but 
to enjoy that light alone, while their neighbors lived 
in thick darkness, must make them more sensible of 
their privilege. Distinguishing mercy affects more 
than any mercy. If Pharaoh had passed as safely 
as Israel, the Red Sea would have been less remem- 



THE saints' rest. 63 

berecL If the rest of the world had not been drown- 
ed, and the rest of Sodom and Gomorrah not burn- 
ed, the saving of Noah had been no wonder, nor 
Lot's deliverance so much talked of. When one is 
enlightened, and another left in darkness ; one re* 
formed, and another by his lust enslaved ; it makes 
the saints cry out, " Lord, how is it that thou wilt 
manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world V 1 
When the prophet is sent to one widow only of all 
that were in Israel, and to cleanse one Naaman of 
all the lepers, the mercy is more observable. That 
will surely be a day of passionate sense on both sides, 
when there shall be two in one bed, and two in the 
field, the one taken and the other left. The saints 
shall look down upon the burning lake, and in the 
sense of their own happiness, and in the approbation 
of God ? s just proceedings, they shall rejoice and sing, 
" Thou art righteous, O Lord ! who wast, art, and 
shalt be, because thou hast judged thus." 

4. But though this rest be peculiar to the saints, 
yet it is common to all the saints; for it is an asso- 
ciation of blessed spirits, both saints and angels : a 
corporation of perfected saints, whereof Christ is the 
head ; the communion of saints completed. As we 
have been together in the labor, duty, danger, and 
distress ; so shall we be in the great recompense 
and deliverance. As we have been scorned and de- 
spised so shall we be owned and honored together. 
We who have gone through the day of sadness, 



64 THE EXCELLENCIES OF 

shall enjoy together that day of gladness. Those 
who have been with us in persecution and in prison, 
shall be with us also in that palace of consolation. 
How oft have our groans made, as it were, one 
sound ! our tears one stream ! and our desires one 
prayer ! But now all our praises shall make up one 
melody ; all our churches, one church ; and all our- 
selves, one body ; for we shall be all one in Christ, 
even as he and the Father are one. It is true, we 
must be careful not to look for that in the saints 
which is alone in Christ. But if the forethought of 
sitting down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, 
m the kingdom of heaven, may be our lawful joy ; 
how much more the real sight and actual possession! 
It cannot but be comfortable to think of that day, 
when we shall join with Moses in his song, with 
David in his psalms of praise, and with all the re- 
deemed in the song of the Lamb for ever ; when we 
shall see Enoch walking with God ; Noah enjoying 
the end of his singularity; Joseph of his integrity; 
Job of his patience ; Hezekiah of his uprightness ; 
and all the saints the end of their faith. Not only 
our old acquaintance, but all the saints of all ages, 
\vhose faces in the flesh we never saw, we shall there 
both know and comfortably enjoy. Yea, angels as 
well as saints will be our blessed acquaintance. 
Those who now are willingly our ministering spi- 
rits, will willingly then be our companions in joy. 
They, who had such joy in heaven for our conver- 



the saints' rest. 65 

sion, will gladly rejoice with us in our glorification. 
Then we shall truly say, as David, I am a compa- 
nion of all them that fear thee ; when " we are come 
unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, 
the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable com- 
pany of angels ; to the general assembly and church 
of the first-born, who are written in heaven, and to 
God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men 
made perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the new 
covenant." It is a singular excellence of heavenly 
rest, that "we are fellow-citizens with the saints, 
and of the household of God." 

5. As another property of our rest, we shall de- 
rive its joys immediately from God. Now we have 
nothing at all immediately, but at the second or 
third hand ; or how many, who knows ? From the 
earth, from man, from sun and moon, from the mi- 
nistration of angels, and from the Spirit, and Christ. 
Though, in the hand of angels, the stream savors 
not of the imperfection of sinners, yet it does of the 
imperfection of creatures ; and as it comes from man, 
it savors of both. How quick and piercing is the 
word in itself! Yet many times it never enters, be- 
ing managed by a feeble arm. What weight and 
worth is there in every passage of the blessed Gos- 
pel ! Enough, one would think, to enter and pierce 
the dullest soul, and wholly possess its thoughts 
and affections ; and yet how oft does it fall as water 
upon a stone ! The things of God which we handle, 

s. r. 6* 



66 THE EXCELLENCIES OF 

are divine ; but our manner of handling* is human. 
There is little we touch, but we leave the print of 
our fingers behind. If God speaks the word him- 
self, it will be a piercing, melting word indeed. The 
Christian now knows, by experience, that his most 
immediate joys are his sweetest joys ; which have 
least of man, and are most directly from the Spirit. 
Christians who are much in secret prayer and con- 
templation, are men of greatest life and joy ; because 
they have all more immediately from God himself. 
Not that we should cast off hearing, reading, and 
conference, or neglect any ordinance of God ; but to 
live above them while we use them, is the way of a 
Christian. There is joy in these remote receivings ; 
but the fullness of joy is in God's immediate pre- 
sence. We shall then have light without a candle, 
and perpetual day without the sun ; for " the city 
has no need of the sun, neither of the moon to shine 
in it ; for the glory of God lightens it, and the Lamb 
is the light thereof; there shall be no night there, 
and they need no candle, neither light of the sun ; 
and they shall reign for ever and ever." We shall 
then have enlightened understandings without Scrip- 
ture, and be governed without a written law ; for the 
Lord will perfect his law in our hearts, and we shall 
be all perfectly taught of God. We shall have joy, 
which we drew not from the promises, nor fetched 
home by faith or hope. We shall have communion 
without ordinances, without this fruit of the vine, 



THE saints' rest. 67 

when Christ shall drink it new with us in his Fa- 
ther's kingdom, and refresh us with the comforting 
wine of immediate enjoyment. To have necessities, 
but no supply, is the case of them in hell. To have 
necessity supplied by means of the creatures, is the 
case of us on earth. To have necessity supplied 
immediately from God, is the case of the saints in 
heaven. To have no necessity at all, is the prero- 
gative of God himself. 

6. A further excellence of this rest is, that it will 
be seasonable. He that expects the fruit of his vine- 
yard at the season, and makes his people " like a 
tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth 
forth his fruit in his season," will also give them 
the crown in his season. He that will have a word 
of joy spoken in season to him that is weary, will 
surely cause the time of joy to appear in the fittest 
season. They who are not weary in well-doing, 
shall, if they faint not, reap in due season. If God 
giveth rain even to his enemies, both the former 
and the latter in his season, and reserveth the ap- 
pointed weeks of harvest, and covenants that there 
shall be day and night in their season ; then surely 
the glorious harvest of the saints shall not miss its 
season. Doubtless, he that would not stay a day 
longer than his promise, but brought Israel out of 
Egypt on the self-same day when the four hundred 
and thirty years were expired, neither will he fail 
of one day or hour of the fittest season for his peo* 



08 THE EXCELLENCIES OF 

pie's glory. When we have had in this world a 
long night of darkness, will not the da3r-breaking, 
and the rising of the Sun of Righteousness, be then 
seasonable % When we have passed a long and te- 
dious journey, through no small dangers, is not 
home then seasonable ? When we have had a long 
and perilous war, and received many a wound, 
would not a peace, with victory, be seasonable? 
Men live in a continual weariness ; especially the 
saints, who are most weary of that which the world 
cannot feel. Some weary of a blind mind ; some of 
a hard heart ; some of their daily doubts and fears ; 
some of the want of spiritual joys ; and some of the 
sense of God's wrath. And when a poor Chris- 
tian hath desired and prayed, and waited for deli- 
verance many years, is it not then seasonable ? We 
lament that we do not find a Canaan in the wilder- 
ness ; or the songs of Sion in a strange land ; that 
we have not a harbor in the main ocean, nor our 
rest in the heat of the day, nor heaven before we 
leave the earth ; and would not all this be^ very 
unseasonable 1 

7. As this rest will be seasonable, so it will be 
suitable. The new nature of the saints doth suit 
their spirits to this rest. Indeed, their holiness is 
nothing else but a spark taken from this element, 
and by the Spirit of Christ kindled in their hearts : 
the flame whereof, mindful of its own divine origi- 
nal, ever tends to the place from whence it comes. 



THE SAINTS 5 REST. 69 

Temporal crowns and kingdoms could not make a 
rest for saints. As they were not redeemed with so 
low a price, neither are they endued with so low a 
nature. As God will have from them a spiritual 
worship, suited to his own spiritual being, he wiL 
provide them a spiritual rest, suitable to their spi- 
ritual nature. The knowledge of God and his 
Christ, a delightful complacency in that mutual 
love, an everlasting rejoicing in the enjoyment of 
our God, with a perpetual singing of his high 
praises ; this is a heaven for a saint. Then we shall 
live in our own element. We ave now as the fish 
in a vessel of water, only so much as will keep 
them alive ; but what is that to the ocean ? We have 
a little air let in to us, to afford us breathing ; but 
what is that to the sweet and fresh gales upon 
Mount Sion ? We have a beam of the sun to light- 
en our darkness, and a warm ray to keep us from 
freezing ; but then we shall live in its light, and be 
revived by its heat for ever. As the natures of the 
saints are, such are their desires ; and it is the de- 
sires of our renewed nature which this rest is suit- 
ed to. Whilst our desires remain corrupted and 
misguided, it is a far greater mercy to deny them, 
yea, to destroy them, than to satisfy them ; but those 
which are spiritual are of his own planting, and he 
will surely water them, and give the increase. He 
quickened our hunger and thirst for righteousness, 
that he might make us happy in a full satisfaction. 



70 THE EXCELLENCIES OF 

Christian, this is a rest after thy own heart ; it con- 
tains all that thy heart can wish ; that which thou long- 
est, prayest, laborest for, there thou shalt iind it all. 
Thou hadst rather have God in Christ, than all the 
world; there thou shalt have him. What wouldst 
thou not give for assurance of his love? There 
thou shalt have assurance without suspicion. De- 
sire what thou canst, and ask what thou wilt, as a 
Christian, and it shall be given thee, not only to 
half of the kingdom, but to the enjoyment both of 
kingdom and King. This is a life of desire and 
prayer, but that is a life of satisfaction and enjoy- 
ment. This rest is very suitable to the saints' ne- 
cessities also, as well as to their natures and desires. 
It contains whatsoever they truly wanted ; not sup- 
plying them with gross-created comforts, which, 
like Saul's armor on David, are more burden 
than benefit. It was Christ and perfect holiness 
which they most needed, and with these shall they 
be supplied. 

8. Still more, this rest will be absolutely perfect 
We shall then have joy without sorrow, and rest 
without weariness. There is no mixture of corrup- 
tion with our graces, nor of suffering with our com- 
fort. There are none of those waves in that harbor, 
which now so toss us up and down. To-day we are 
well, to-morrow sick ; to-day in esteem, to-moirow in 
disgrace ; to-day we have friends, to-morrow none ; 
nay, we have wine and vinegar in the same cup. If 



THE SAINTS' REST. 71 

revelations raise us to the third heaven, the messen- 
ger of Satan must presently buffet us, and the thorn 
in the flesh fetch us down. But there is none of this 
inconstancy in heaven. If perfect love casteth out 
fear, then perfect joy must needs cast out sorrow, 
and perfect happiness exclude all the relics of mise- 
ry. We shall there rest from all the evil of sin and 
of suffering. 

Heaven excludes nothing more directly than sin, 
whether of nature or of conversation. " There shall 
in no wise enter any thing that deflleth, neither 
whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie.' 1 
What need Christ at all to have died, if heaven could 
have contained imperfect souls ? " For this purpose 
the Son of God was manifested, that he might de- 
stroy the works of the devil." His blood and Spirit 
have not done all this, to leave us, after all, defiled. 
" What communion hath light with darkness ? and 
what concord hath Christ with Belial?" Christian, 
if thou be once in heaven, thou shalt sin no more. Is 
not this glad news to thee, who hast prayed and 
watched against it so long ? I know, if it were of- 
fered to thy choice, thou wouldst rather choose to 
be freed from sin, than have all the world. Thou 
shalt have thy desire. That hard heart, those vile 
thoughts, which accompanied thee to every duty, 
shall then be left behind for ever. Thy understand 
ing shall never more be troubled with darkness. All 
dark Scriptures shall be made plain ; all seeming 



72 THE EXCELLENCIES OF 

contradictions reconciled. The poorest Christian s* 
presently there a more perfect divine than any here. 
O that happy day, when error shall vanish for ever ! 
when our understanding shall be filled with God 
himself, whose light will leave no darkness in us ! 
His face shall be the Scripture, wh »re we shall read 
the truth. Many a godly man hath here, in his mis« 
taken zeal, been a means to deceive and pervert hi3 
brethren, and, when he sees his own error, cannot 
again tell how to undeceive them. But there we 
shall conspire in one truth, as being one in him who 
is the truth. We shall also rest from all the sin of 
our will, affection, and conversation. We shall no 
more retain this rebelling principle, which is still 
drawing us from God ; no more be oppressed with 
the power of our corruptions, nor vexed with their 
presence: no pride, passion, slothfulness, insensibil- 
ity, shall enter with us ; no strangeness to God, and 
the things of God ; no coldness of affections, nor 
imperfection in our love ; no uneven walking, nor 
grieving of the Spirit; no scandalous action, nor 
unholy conversation : we shall rest from all these 
for ever. Then shall our will correspond to the 
divine will, as face answers face in a glass, and 
from which, as our law and rule, we shall never 
swerve. " For he that is entered into his rest, he 
also hath ceased from his own works, as God iid 
from his " 

Our sufferings were but the consequences of our 



THE saints' rest. 73 

sinning, and in heaven they both shall cease toge- 
ther. We shall rest from all our doubts of God's 
love. It shall no more be said, that " Doubts are 
like the thistle, a bad weed, but growing in good 
ground." They shall now be weeded out, and trou- 
ble the gracious soul no more. We shall hear that 
kind of language no more, " What shall I do to 
know my state ? How shall I know that God is my 
Father ? that my heart is upright 1 that my conver- 
sion is true % that faith is sincere ? I am afraid my 
sins are unpardoned ; that all I do is hypocrisy ; 
that God will reject me ; that he does not hear my 
prayers." All this is there turned into praise. We 
shall rest from all sense of God's displeasure. Hell 
shall not be mixed with heaven. At times the gra- 
cious soul remembered God, and was troubled ; com- 
plained, and was overwhelmed, and refused to be 
comforted; divine wrath lay hard upon, him, and 
God afflicted him with all his waves. But that 
blessed day shall convince us, that, though God hid 
his face from us for a moment, yet with everlasting 
kindness will he have mercy on us. We shall rest 
from all the temptations of Satan, What a grief is 
it to a Christian, though he yield not to the tempta- 
tion, yet to be solicited to deny his Lord ! What a 
torment to have such horrid motions made to his 
soul ! such blasphemous ideas presented to his ima- 
gination ! sometimes cruel thoughts of God, under- 
valuing thoughts of Christ, unbelieving thoughts of 

7 Saints' Res^ 



74 THE EXCELLENCIES OF 

Scripture, or injurious thoughts of Providence ! to 
be tempted sometimes to turn to present things, to 
play with the baits of sin, and venture on the delights 
of flesh, and sometimes on atheism itself! especially 
when we know the treachery of our own hearts, rea- 
dy as tinder to take fire as soon as one of those sparks 
shall fall upon them ! Satan hath power here to tempt 
us in the wilderness, but he entereth not the holy 
city ; he may set us on a pinnacle of the temple in 
the earthly Jerusalem, but the New Jerusalem he 
may not approach ; he may take us up into an ex- 
ceeding high mountain, but the Mount Sion he can- 
not ascend; and if he could, all the kingdoms of the 
world, and the glory of them, would be a despised 
bait to a soul possessed of the kingdom of our Lord. 
No, it is in vain for Satan to offer a temptation more. 
All our temptations from the world and the flesh 
shall also cease. Oh the hourly dangers that we 
here walk in ! Every sense and member is a snare ; 
every creature, every mercy, and every duty is a 
snare to us. We can scarce open our eyes, but we 
are in danger of envying those above us, or despis- 
ing those below us; of coveting the honors and 
riches of some, or beholding the rags and beggary 
of others with pride and unmercifulness. If we see 
beauty, it is a bait to lust ; if deformity, to loathing 
and disdain. How soon do slanderous reports, vain 
jests, wanton speeches, creep into the heart ! How 
constant and strong a watch does our appetite re* 



THE saints' rest. 75 

quire! Have we comeliness and beauty? What 
fuel for pride ! Are we deformed % What an occa- 
sion of repining ! Have we strength of reason and 
gifts of learning ? O how prone to be puffed up, 
hunt after applause, and despise our brethren ! Are 
we unlearned ? How apt then to despise what we 
have not ! Are we in places of authority % How 
strong is the temptation to abuse our trust, make our 
will our law, and cut out all the enjoyments of others 
by the rules and model of our own interest and 
policy ! Are we inferiors ? How prone to grudge 
at others' pre-eminence, and bring their actions to 
the bar of our judgment ! Are we rich, and not too 
much exalted ? Are we poor, and not discontented ? 
Are we not lazy in our duties, or make a Christ of 
them % Not that God hath made these things our 
snares ; but through our own corruption they be- 
come so to us. Ourselves are the greatest snare to 
ourselves. This is our comfort, our rest will free us 
from all these. As Satan hath no entrance there, so 
he has nothing to serve his malice ; but all things 
there shall join with us in the high praises of our 
great Deliverer. As we rest from the temptations, 
we shall likewise from the abuses and persecutions 
of the world. The prayers of the souls under the 
altar will then be answered, and God will avenge 
their blood on them that dwell on the earth. This 
is the time for crowning with thorns ; • that, for 
crowning with glory. Now, 'all that will live 



76 THE EXCELLENCIES OF 

godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution;" 
then, they that suffered with him shall be glorified 
with him. Now, we must be hated o£ all men for 
Christ's name's sake ; then, Christ will be admired 
in his saints that were thus hated. We are here 
made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and 
to men : as the filth of the world, and the offscour- 
ing of all things, men separate us from their com- 
pany, and reproach us, and cast out our names as 
evil ; but we shall then be as much gazed at for our 
glory, and they will be shut out of the church of 
the saints, and separated from us, whether they will 
or not. We can scarce now pray in our families, 
or sing praises to God, but our voice is a vexation 
to them : how must it torment them, then, to see us 
praising and rejoicing, while they are howling and 
lamenting ! You, brethren, who can now attempt 
no work of God without losing the love of the 
world, consider, you shall have none in heaven but 
will further your work, and join heart and voice 
with you in your everlasting joy and praise. Till 
then, possess ye your souls in patience. Bind all 
reproaches as a crown to your heads. Esteem 
them greater riches than the world's treasures. " It 
is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribu- 
lation to them that trouble you; and to you who 
are troubled, rest with Christ." We shall then 
rest from all our sad divisions and unchristian 
quarrels with one another. How lovingly do thou- 



THE SAINTS REST. 77 

sands live together in heaven, who lived at variance 
upon earth ! There is no contention, because none 
of this pride, ignorance, or other corruption. There 
Is no plotting to strengthen our party, nor deep de- 
signing against our brethren. If there be sorrow 
or shame in heaven, we shall then be both sorry 
and ashamed to remember all this conduct on earth ; 
as Joseph's brethren were to behold him, when they 
remembered their former unkind usage. Is it not 
enough that all the world is against us, but we must 
also be against one another ? O happy days of per- 
secution, which drove us together in love, whom 
the sunshine of liberty and prosperity crumbles into 
dust by our contentions ! O happy day of the saints, 
rest in glory, when, as there is one God, one Christ, 
one Spirit, so we shall have one heart, one church, 
one employment for ever ! 

We shall then rest from our participation of our 
brethren's sufferings. The church on earth is a 
mere hospital ! Some groaning under a dark un- 
derstanding, some under an insensible heart, some 
languishing under unfruitful weakness, and some 
bleeding for miscarriages and willfulness; some 
crying out of their poverty, some groaning under 
pains and infirmities, and some bewailing a whole 
catalogue of calamities. But a far greater grief it 
is ; to see our dearest and most intimate friends 
turned aside from the truth of Christ, continuing 
their neglect of Christ and their souls, and nothing 

s. r. 7* 



78 THE EXCELLENCIES OF 

will awaken them out of their security : to look on 
an ungodly lather or mother, brother or sister, wife 
or husband, child or friend, and think how certainly 
they shall be in hell for ever, if they die in their 
present unregenerate state ; to think of the Gospel 
departing, the glory taken from our Israel, poor 
souls left willingly dark and destitute, and blowing 
out the light that should guide them to salvation ! 
Our day of rest will free us from all this, and the 
days of mourning shall be ended ; then thy people, 
O Lord, shall be all righteous; they shall inherit 
the land for ever, the branch of thy planting, the 
work of thy hands, that thou mayest be glorified. 
Then we shall rest from all our own personal suf- 
ferings. This may seem a small thing to those 
that live in ease and prosperity ; but to the daily 
afflicted soul it makes the thoughts of heaven de 
lightful. O the dying life we now live ! as full of 
sufferings as of days and hours ! Our Redeemer 
leaves this measure of misery upon us, to make us 
know for what we are beholden, to mind us of what 
we should else forget, to be serviceable to his wise 
and gracious designs, and advantageous to our full 
and final recovery. Grief enters at every sense, 
seizes every part and power of flesh and spirit. 
What noble part is there, that sufTereth its pain or 
ruin alone ? But sin and flesh, dust and pain, will 
all be left behind together. O the blessed tranquil- 
lity of that region, where there is nothing but sweet 



the saints' rest. 79 

continued peace ! O healthful place, where none are 
sick ! O fortunate land, where all are kings ! O holy 
assembly, where all are priests ! How free a state, 
where none are servants but to their supreme Mon- 
arch ! The poor man shall no more be tired with 
his labors : no more hunger or thirst, cold or naked- 
ness : no pinching' frosts or scorching heats. Our 
faces shall no more be pale or sad ; no more breaches 
in friendship, nor parting of friends asunder; no 
more trouble accompanying our relations, nor voice 
of lamentation heard in our dwellings : God shall 
wipe away all tears from our eyes. O my soul, bear 
with the infirmities of thine earthly tabernacle ; it 
will be thus but a little while ; the sound of thy Re- 
deemer's feet is even at the door. We shall also 
rest from all the toils of duties. The conscientious 
magistrate, parent, and minister cries out, " O the 
burden that lieth upon me !" Every relation, state, 
age, hath variety of duties ; so that every conscien- 
tious Christian cries out, " O the burden ! O my 
weakness, that makes it burdensome I" But our re- 
maining rest will ease us of the burdens. Once 
more we shall rest from all these troublesome afflic- 
tions which necessarily accompany our absence from 
God. The trouble that is mixed in our desires and 
hopes, our longings and waitings, shall then cease. 
We shall no more look into our cabinet and miss 
our treasure ; into our hearts, and miss our Christ ; 
no more seek him from ordinance to ordinance; but 



80 THE EXCELLENCIES OF 

all be concluded in a most blessed and full enjoy- 
ment. 

9. The last jewel of our crown is, that it will be an 
everlasting rest. Without this all were compara- 
tively nothing. The very thought of leaving it 
would embitter all our joys. It would be a hell in 
heaven, to think of once losing heaven ; as it would 
be a kind of heaven to the damned, had they but 
hopes of once escaping. Mortality is the disgrace 
of all sublunary delights. How it spoils our plea- 
sure to see it dying in our hands ! But, O blessed 
eternity ! where ur lives are perplexed with no such 
thoughts, nor our joys interrupted with any such 
fears ! where " we shall be pillars in the temple of 
God, and go no more out." While we were ser- 
vants, we held by lease, and that but for the term of 
a transitory life ; " but the son abideth in the house 
for ever." " O my soul, let go thy dreams of present 
pleasures, and loose thy hold of earth and flesh. 
Study frequently, study thoroughly this one word — 
Eternity. What ! Live, and never die ! Rejoice, and 
ever rejoice!" O happy souls in hell, should you 
but escape after millions of ages ! O miserable saints 
in heaven, should you be dispossessed after the age 
of a million of worlds ! This word, Everlasting, con- 
tains the perfection of their torment and our glory. 
O that the sinner would study this word ; methinks 
it would startle him out of his dead sleep ! O that 
the gracious soul would study it ; methinks it would 



THE SAINTS* REST. 81 

_vdve him in his deepest agony! "And must I, 
Lord, thus live for ever ? Then will I also love for 
ever. Must my joys be immortal; and shall not 
my thanks be also immortal'? Surely, if I shall 
never lose my glory, I will never cease thy praises. 
If thou wilt both perfect and perpetuate me and my 
glory, as I shall be thine, and not my own, so shall 
my glory be thy glory. And as thy glory was thy 
ultimate end in my glory, so shall it also be my ends 
when thou hast crowned me with that glory which 
hath no end. * Unto the King eternal, immortal, in- 
visible, the only wise God, be honor and glory, for 
ever and ever.' 

Thus I have endeavored to show you a glimpse 
of approaching glory. But how short are my ex- 
pressions of its excellency ! Reader, if thou be an 
humble, sincere believer, and waitest with longing 
and laboring for this rest, thou wilt shortly see and 
feel the truth of all this. Thou wilt then have so 
high an apprehension of this blessed state, as will 
make thee pity the ignorance and distance of mor- 
tals, and will tell thee, all that is here said falls short 
of the whole truth a thousand-fold. In the mean 
time, let this much kindle thy desires, and quicken 
thy endeavors. Up and be doing ; run, and strive, 
and fight, and hold on : for thou hast a certain, glo- 
rious prize before thee. God will not mock thee ; 
do not mock thyself, nor betray thy soul by delaying, 
and all is thine own. What kind of men, dost thou 



82 EXCELLENCIES OF THE SAINTS* REST. 

think, would Christians be in their lives and duties, 
if they had still this glory fresh in their thoughts ? 
what frame would their spirits be in, if their thoughts 
of heaven were lively and believing ? Would their 
hearts be so heavy ? their countenances be so sad ? 
or would they have need to take up their comforts 
from below ? Would they be so loath to suffer ; so 
afraid to die ? or would they not think every day a 
year till they enjoy it ? May the Lord heal our car- 
nal hearts, lest we enter not into this rest because of 
unbelief 



CHARACTER OF THOSE, &c. 83 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE CHARACTER OF THE PERSONS FOR WHOM THIS REST IS 
DESIGNED. 

The people of God who shall enjoy this rest, are, 1. Chosen, 
from eternity ; 2. Given to Christ ; 3. Born again ; 4. Deeply 
convinced of the evil of sin, their misery by sin, the vanity of 
the creature, and the ail-sufficiency of Christ. 5. Their will 
is proportionally changed. 6. They engage in covenant with 
Christ. 7. They persevere in their engagements. The reader 
invited to examine himself by these characteristics of God's 
people. Further testimony from Scripture, that this rest shall 
be enjoyed by the people of God : also that none but they shall 
enjoy it ; and that it remains for them, and is not to be en- 
joyed till they come to another world. The chapter concludes 
with showing, that their souls shall enjoy this rest while sepa- 
rated from their bodies. 

While I was in the mount, describing the excel- 
lencies of the saints' rest, I felt it was good being 
there, and therefore tarried the longer ; and was 
there not an extreme disproportion between my con- 
ceptions and the subject, much longer had I been. 
Can a prospect of that happy land be tedious ? Hav- 
ing read of such a high and unspeakable glory, a 
stranger would wonder for what rare creatures this 
mighty preparation should be made, and expect some 
illustrious sun should break forth : but, behold ! only 
a shellful of dust, animated with an invisible rational 
soul, and that rectified with as unseen a restoring 
power of grace ; and this is the creature that must 



B4 CHARACTER OF THOSE FOR 

possess such glory ! You would think it must needs 
be some deserving piece, or one that brings a valua- 
ble price : but, behold ! one that hath nothing ; and 
can deserve nothing ; yea, that deserves the contrary, 
and would, if he might, proceed in that deserving : 
tmt, being apprehended by love, he is brought to him 
that is All ; and most affectionately receiving him, 
and resting on him, he doth, in and through him, 
receive all this ! More particularly, the persons for 
whom this rest is designed, are chosen of God from 
eternity ; given to Christ as their Redeemer ; born 
again; deeply convinced of the evil and misery of 
a sinful state, the vanity of the creature, and the all- 
sufficiency of Christ ; their will is renewed ; they 
engage themselves to Christ in covenant ; and they 
persevere in their engagements to the end. 

1, The persons for whom this rest is designed, 
whom the text calls "the people of God," are " cho- 
sen of God before the foundation of the world, that 
they should be holy and without blame before him 
in love." That they are but a part of mankind, is 
apparent in Scripture and experience. They are 
the little flock, to whom " it is their Father's good 
pleasure to give the kingdom." Fewer they are 
than the world imagines ; yet not so few as some 
drooping spirits think, who are suspicious that God 
is unwilling to be their God, when they know them* 
selves willing to be his people. 

2. These persons are given of God to his Son, to> 



WHOM THIS REST IS DESIGNED. 85 

be by him redeemed from their lost state, and ad- 
vanced to this glory. God hath given all things to 
his Son, but not as he hath given his chosen to him. 
" God hath given him power over all flesh, that he 
should give eternal life to as many as the Father 
hath given him." The difference is clearly ex- 
pressed by the apostle ; " he hath put all things un- 
der his feet, and gave him to be the head over all 
things to the church." And though Christ is, in 
some sense, a ransom for all, yet not in that special 
manner as for his people. 

3. One great qualification of these persons is, that 
they are born again. To be the people of God with- 
out regeneration, is as impossible as to be the chil- 
dren of men without generation. Seeing we are bom 
God's enemies, we must be new-born his sons, or 
else remain enemies still. The greatest reformation 
of life that can be attained to, without this new life 
wrought in the soul, may procure our further delu- 
sion, but never our salvation. 

4. This new life in the people of God discovers 
itself by conviction, or a deep sense of divine things. 

They are convinced of the evil of sin. The sinner 
is made to know and feel, that the sin which was his 
delight, is a more loathsome thing than a toad or 
serpent, and a greater evil than plague or famine ; 
being a breach of the righteous law of the most high 
God, dishonorable to him, and destructive to the sin- 
ner. Now the sinner no more hears the reproofs of 

& Saints' Rest. 



86 CHARACTER OF THOSE FOR 

sin as words of course ; but the mention of his sin 
speaks to his very heart, and yet he is contented you 
should show him the worst. He was wont to marvel 
what made men keep up such a stir against sin ; what 
harm it was for a man to take a little forbidden plea- 
sure ; he saw no such heinousness in it, that Christ 
must needs die for it, and a Christless world be eter- 
nally tormented in hell. Now the case is altered: 
God hath opened his eyes to see the inexpressible 
vileness of sin. 

They are convinced of their own misery by 
reason of sin. They who before read the threats 
of God's law as men do the story of foreign wars, 
now find it their own story, and perceive they read 
their own doom, as if they found their own names 
written in the curse, or heard the law say, as Na- 
than, "Thou art the man." The wrath of God 
seemed to him before but as a storm to a man in a 
dry house, or as the pains of the sick to the health- 
ful stander-by ; but now he finds the disease is his 
own, and feels himself a condemned man, that he is 
dead and damned in point of law, and that nothing 
is wan ling but mere execution to make him ab- 
solutely and irrecoverably miserable. This is a 
work of the Spirit, wrought in some measure in all 
the regenerate. How should he come to Christ 
for pardon, who did not first find himself guilty and 
condemned ? or for life, who never found himself 
spiritually dead? " The whole need not a physician, 



WHOM THIS REST IS DESIGNED. 87 

but they that are sick." The discovery of the re- 
medy as soon as the misery, must needs prevent a 
great part of the trouble. And perhaps the joyful 
apprehensions of mercy may make the sense of 
misery sooner forgotten. 

They are also convinced of the creature's vanity 
and insufficiency. Every man is naturally an idola- 
ter. Our hearts turned from God in our first fall ; 
and, ever since, the creature hath been our god. 
This is the grand sin of nature. Every unregene- 
rate man ascribes to the creature divine prerogatives, 
and allows it the highest room in his soul; or, if 
ne is convinced of misery, he flies to it as his savior. 
Indeed, God and his Christ shall be called Lord 
and Savior ; but the real expectation is from the 
creature, and the work of God is laid upon it. 
Pleasure, profit, and honor, are the natural man's 
trinity ; and his carnal self is these in unity. It 
was our first sin to aspire to be as gods ; and it is 
the greatest sin that is propagated in our nature 
from generation to generation. When God should 
guide us, we guide ourselves ; when he should be 
our Sovereign, we rule ourselves : the laws which 
he gives us, we find fault with, and would correct ; 
and, if we had the making of them, we would have 
made them otherwise: when he should take care 
of us, (and must, or we perish,) we will take care 
for ourselves : when we should depend on him in 
daily receiving, we had rather have our portion in 



83 CHARACTER OF THOSE FOR 

our own hands: when w T e should submit to his 
providence, we often murmur at it, and think we 
could make a better disposal than God hath made. 
When we should study and love, trust and honor 
God, we study and love, trust and honor our car- 
nal selves. Instead of God, we would have all 
men's eyes and dependence on us, and all men's 
thanks returned to us, and would gladly be the 
only men on earth extolled and admired by all. 
Thus we are naturally our own idols. But down 
falls this Dagon when God does once renew the 
soul. It is the chief design of that great work, to 
bring the heart back to God himself. He con- 
vinced! the sinner, that the creature can neither be 
his God, to make him happy, nor his Christ, to re 
cover him from his misery, and restore him to God, 
who is his happiness. God does this not only by 
his word, but by his providence also. This is 
the reason why affliction so frequently concurs in 
the work of conversion. Arguments which speak 
to the quick will force a hearing, when the most 
powerful words are slighted. If a sinner made 
credit his god, and God shall cast him into the 
lowest disgrace, or bring him, who idolized his 
riches, into a condition wherein they cannot help 
him, or cause them to take wing and fly away, 
what a help is here to this w r ork of conviction ! If 
a man made pleasure his god, whatsoever a roving 
eye, a curious ear, a greedy appetite, or a lustful 



WHOM THIS REST IS DESIGNED. 89 

heart could desire, and God should take these from 
him, or turn them into gall or wormwood, what a 
help is here to conviction! When God shall cast 
a man into languishing sickness, and inflict wounds 
on his heart, and stir up against him his own con- 
science, and then, as it were, say to him, " Try if 
your credit, riches, or pleasures, can help you. Can 
they heal your wounded conscience? Can they 
now support your tottering tabernacle? Can they 
keep your departing soul in your body ? or save 
you from my everlasting wrath? or redeem your 
soul from eternal flames ? Cry aloud to them, and 
see now whether these will be to you instead of 
God and Christ." O how this works now with 
ihe sinner ! Sense acknowledges the truth, and 
even the flesh is convinced of the creature's vanity, 
and our very deceiver is undeceived. 

The people of God are likewise convinced of 
the absolute necessity, the full sufficiency, and per- 
fect excellency of Jesus Christ : as a man in famine 
is convinced of the necessity of food ; or a man 
that had heard or read his sentence of condemna- 
tion, of the absolute necessity of pardon ; or a man 
that lies in prison for debt is convinced of his need 
<jf a surety to discharge it. Now the sinner feels 
an unsupportable burden upon him, and sees there 
is none but Christ can take it off: he perceives the 
law proclaims him a rebel, and none but Christ can 
make his peace : he is as a man pursued by a lion, 

s. r. 8* 



90 CHARACTER OF THOSE FOR 

that must perish if he finds no* a present sanctuary: 
he is now brought to this dilemma ; either he must 
have Christ to justify him, or be eternally con- 
demned ; have Christ to save him, or burn in hell 
for ever ; have Christ to bring him to God, or be 
shut out of his presence everlastingly ! And no 
wonder if he cry as the martyr, " None but Christ ! 
none but Christ !" Not gold, but bread, will satisfy 
the hungry ; nor any thing but pardon will comfort 
the condemned. 

All things are counted but dung now, that he 
may win Christ; and what was gain, he counts 
loss for Christ. As the sinner sees his misery, and 
the inability of himself and all things to relieve 
him, so he perceives there is no saving mercy out 
of Christ. He sees, though the creature cannot, 
and himself cannot, yet Christ can. Though the 
fig-leaves of our own unrighteous righteousness are 
too short to cover our nakedness, yet the righteous- 
ness of Christ is large enough : ours is dispropor- 
tionate to the justice of the law, but Christ's extends 
to every tittle. If he intercede, there is no denial ; 
such is the dignity of his person and the value of 
his merits, that the Father grants all he desires. 
Before, the sinner knew Christ's excellency as a 
blind man knows the light of the sun ; but now, as 
one that beholds its glory. 

5. After this deep conviction, the icill discovers 
also its change. As, for instance, the sin w 7 liich the 



WHOM THIS REST IS DESIGNED. 91 

understanding pronounces evil, the will turns from 
with abhorrence. Not that the sensitive appetite is 
changed, or any way made to abhor its object ; but 
when it would prevail against reason, and carry 
us to sin against God, instead of Scripture being 
the rule, and reason the master, and sense the ser- 
vant, this disorder and evil the will abhors. The 
misery also, which sin hath procured, is not on!y 
discerned, but bewailed. It is impossible that the 
soul should now look, either on its trespass against 
God, or yet on its own self-procured calamity, with 
out some contrition. He that truly discerns that 
he hath killed Christ, and killed himself, will surely 
m some measure be pricked to the heart. If he 
cannot weep, he can heartily groan; and his heart 
feels what his understanding sees. The creature 
is renounced as vanity, and turned out of the heart 
with disdain. Not that it is undervalued, or the 
use of it declaimed ; but its idolatrous abuse, and 
its unjust usurpation. Can Christ be the way, 
where the creature is the end ? Can Ave seek Christ 
to reconcile us to God, while in our hearts we pre- 
fer the creature before him ? In the soul of every 
un regenerate man, the creature is both God and 
Christ. As turning from the creature to God, and 
not by Christ, is no true turning ; so believing in 
Christ, while the creature hath our hearts, is no 
true believing. Our aversion from sin, renouncing 
our idols, and our right receiving Christ, is all but 



92 CHARACTER OF THOSE FOR 

one work, which God ever perfects where he be- 
gins. At the same time, the will cleaves to God 
the Father, and to Christ. Having been convinced 
that nothing else can be his happiness, the sinner 
now finds it is in God. Convinced also that Christ 
alone is able and willing to make peace for him, 
ne most affectionately accepts of Christ for Savior 
and Lord. Paul's preaching was " repentance to- 
ward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." 
And life eternal consists, first in " knowing the only 
true God; and" then "Jesus Christ, whom he 
hath sent." To take the Lord for our God is the 
natural part of the covenant ; the supernatural part 
is, to take Christ for our Redeemer. The former 
is first necessary, and implied in the latter. To 
accept Christ without affection and love, is not 
justifying faith : nor does love follow as a fruit, 
but immediately concurs; for faith is the receiving 
of Christ with the whole soul. " He that loveth 
father or mother more than Christ, is not worthy of 
him," nor is justified by him. Faith accepts him 
for Savior and Lord : for in both relations will he 
be received, or not at ail. Faith not only acknow- 
ledges his sufferings, and accepts of pardon and 
glory, but acknowledges his sovereignty, and sub- 
raits to his government and way of salvation. 

6. As an essential part of the character of God's 
people, they now enter into a cordial covenant with 
Christ. The sinner was never strictly, nor coin- 



WHOM THIS REST IS DESIGNED. 93 

fortably, in covenant with Christ till now. He is 
sure, by the free offers, that Christ consents; and 
now he cordially consents himself; and so the 
agreement is fully made. With this covenant 
Christ delivers up himself in all comfortable rela- 
tions to the sinner ; and the sinner delivers up him- 
self to be saved and ruled by Christ. Now the 
soul resolutely concludes, " I have been blindly led 
by flesh and lust, by the world and the devil, too 
long", almost to my utter destruction ; I will now 
be wholly at the disposal of my Lord, who hath 
bought me with his blood, and will bring me to 
his glory. 5 * 

7. I add, that the people of God persevere in 
this covenant to the end. Though the believer may 
be tempted, yet he never disclaims his Lord, re- 
nounces his allegiance, nor repents of his covenant ; 
nor can he properly be said to break that covenant, 
while that faith continues which is the condition 
of it. Indeed, those that have verbally covenanted, 
and not cordially, may " tread under foot the blood 
of the covenant, as an unholy thing, wherewith 
they were sanctified," by separation from those 
without the church ; but the elect cannot be so de- 
ceived. Though this perseverance be certain to 
true believers, yet it is made a condition of their 
salvation ; yea, of their continued life and fruitful- 
ness, and of the continuance of their justification, 
though not of their first justification itself. But 



94 CHARACTER OF THOSE FOR 

eternally blessed be that hand of love which hath 
drawn the tree promise, and subscribed and sealed 
to that which ascertains us both of the grace which 
is the condition, and the kingdom w r hich en that 
condition is offered ! 

Such are the essentials of this people of God. 
Not a full portraiture of them in all their excellen- 
cies, nor all the notes whereby they may be dis- 
cerned. I beseech thee, reader, as thou hast the 
hope of a Christian, or the reason of a man, judge 
thyself as one that must shortly be judged by a righ- 
teous God, and faithfully answer these questions. 
I will not inquire whether you remember the time 
or the order of these workings of the Spirit ; there 
may be much uncertainty and mistake in that. If 
you are sure they are wrought in you, the matter 
is not so great, though you know not when or how 
you came by them. But carefully examine and in- 
quire, Hast thou been thoroughly convinced of a 
prevailing depravation through thy whole soul? 
and a prevailing wickedness through thy whole 
life ? and how T vile sin is ? and that by the covenant 
thou hast transgressed, the least sin deserves eter- 
nal death ? Dost thou consent to the law, that it is 
true and righteous, an! perceive thyself sentenced 
to this death by it 1 Hast thou seen the utter insuf- 
ficiency of every creature, either to be itself thy hap- 
piness, or the means of removing this thy misery ? 
Hast thou been convinced that thy happiness is, 



WHOM THIS REST IS DESIGNED. 95 

only in God, as the end, and in Christ, as the way 
lo him ; and that thou must be brought to God 
through Chri&t, or perish eternally? Hast thou 
seen an absolute necessity of thy enjoying Christ, 
and the full sufficiency in him, to do for thee what- 
soever thy case requires ? Hast thou discovered the 
excellency of this pearl to be worth thy " selling all 
to buy it . ? " Have thy convictions been like those of 
a man that thirsts; and not merely a change in opi- 
nion, produced by reading or education ? Have both 
thy sin and misery been the abhorrence and burden 
of thy soul? If thou couldst not weep, yet couklst 
thou heartily groan under the insupportable weight 
of both ? Hast thou renounced all thy own righteous- 
ness ? Hast thou turned thy idols out of thy heart, 
so that the creature hath no more the sovereignty, 
but is now a servant to God and Christ ? Dost thou 
accept of Christ as thy only Savior, and expect thy 
justification, recovery and glory from him alone ? 
Are his laws the most powerful commanders of thy 
life and soul ? Do they ordinarily prevail against 
the commands of the flesh, and against the great- 
est interest of thy credit, profit, pleasure, or life? 
Has Christ the highest room in thy heart and affec- 
tions, so that, though thou canst not love him as 
thou wouldst, yet nothing else is loved so much ? 
Hast thou, to this end, made a hearty covenant with 
him, and delivered up thyself to him? Is it thy ut- 
most care and watchful endeavor that thou mayest 



96 CHARACTER OF THOSE FOR 

be found faithful in this covenant ; and thou gn thou 
fall into sin, yet wouldst not renounce thy bargain, 
nor change thy Lord, nor give up thyself to any 
other government, for all the world ? If this be tru- 
ly thy case, thou art one of the people of God in my 
text ; and as sure as the promise of God is true, this 
blessed rest remains for thee. Only see thou " abide 
in Christ," and "endure to the end;" for "if any 
man draw back, his soul shall have no pleasure in 
him." But if no such work be found within thee, 
whatever thy deceived heart may think, or how 
strong soever thy false hopes may be, thou wilt find 
to thy cost, except thorough conversion prevent it, 
that the rest of the saints belongs not to thee. " O 
that thou wert wise, that thou wouldst understand 
this, that thou wouldst consider thy latter end !" that 
yet, while thy soul is in thy body, and " a price in 
thy hand," and opportunity and hope before thee, 
thine ears may be open, and thy heart yield to the 
persuasions of God, that so thou mightest rest among 
his people, and enjoy "the inheritance of the saints 
in light!" 

That this rest shall be enjoyed by the people of 
God, is a truth which the Scripture, if its testimony 
be further needed, clearly asserts in a variety of 
ways ; as, for instance, that they are " fore-ordained 
to it, and it for them. God is not ashamed to be 
called their God, for he hath prepared for them a 
city." They are styled " vessels of mercy, afore pre- 



WHOM THIS REST IS DESIGNED. 97 

pared unto glory." " In Christ they have obtained 
an inheritance, being predestinated according to the 
purpose of Him who worketh all things after the 
counsel of his own will." And " whom he did pre- 
destinate, them he also glorified." Who can bereave 
his people of that rest which is designed for them 
by God's eternal purpose ? Scripture tells us, they 
are " redeemed to this rest. By the blood of Jesus, 
we have boldness to enter into the "holiest ;" whe- 
ther that entrance means by faith and prayer here, 
or by full possession hereafter. Therefore the saints 
in heaven sing a new song unto Him who has " re- 
deemed them to God by his blood, out of every kin- 
dred, and tongue, and people, and nation, and made 
them kings and priests unto God." Either Christ, 
then, must lose his blood and sufferings, and never 
" see of the travail of his soul," or else " there re- 
maineth a rest to the people of God." In Scripture 
this rest is promised to them. As the firmament 
with stars, so are the sacred pages bespangled with 
these divine engagements. Christ says, "Fear not, 
little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to 
give you the kingdom." " I appoint unto you a 
kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me ; 
that ye may eat and drink at my table in my king- 
dom." All the means of grace, the operations of 
the Spirit upon the soul, and gracious actings of the 
saints, every command to repent and believe, to fast 
and pray,* to knock and seek, to strive and labor, to 

9 Saints' Rest. 



93 CHARACTER OF THOSE FOR 

run and fight, prove that there remains a rest for the 
people of Gocl. The Spirit would never kindle in 
us such strong desires after heaven, such love to Je- 
sus Christ, if we should not receive what we desire 
and love. He that " guides our feet into the way 
of peace," will undoubtedly bring us to the end of 
peace. How nearly are the means and end con- 
joined ! " The kingdom of heaven suffer eth vio- 
lence, and the violent take it by force." They that 
" follow Christ in the regeneration, shall sit upon 
thrones of glory." Scripture assures us, that the 
saints have the " beginnings, foretastes, earnests, and 
seals " of this rest here. " The kingdom of God is 
within them." " Though they have not seen Christ, 
yet loving him, and believing in him, they rejoice 
with joy unspeakable and full of glory ; receiving 
the end of their faith, even the salvation of their 
souls." They " rejoice in hope of the glory of 
God." And does God "seal them with that Holy 
Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of their inhe- 
ritance," and will he deny the full possession ? The 
Scripture also mentions, by name, those who have 
entered into this rest ; as Enoch, Abraham, Lazarus, 
and the thief that was crucified with Christ. And u 
there be a rest for these, surely there is a rest for all 
believers. But it is in vain to heap up Scripture 
proofs, seeing it is the very end of Scripture to be a 
guide to lead us to this blessed state, and to be the 
charter and grant by which we hold all* our title 
to it. 



WHOM THIS REST IS DESIGNED. 99 

Scripture not only proves that this rest remains 
for the people of God, but also that it remains for 
none but them ; so that the rest of the world shall 
have no part in it. " Without holiness no man shall 
see the Lord. Except a man be born again, he can- 
not see the kingdom of God. He that believeth not 
the Son, shall not see life, but the wrath of God abid- 
eth on him. No whoremonger, nor unclean person, 
nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any in- 
heritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. The 
wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations 
that forget God. They all shall be damned, who 
believe not the truth, but have pleasure in unright- 
eousness. The Lord Jesus shall come in flaming 
fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, 
and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus 
Christ; who shall be punished with everlasting 
destruction from the presence of the Lord, and 
from the glory of his power.' ' Had the ungodly 
returned before their life was expired, and been 
heartily willing to accept of Christ for their 
Savior and their King, and to be saved by him 
in his way, and upon his most reasonable terms, 
they might have been saved. God freely offered 
them life, and they would not accept it. The plea- 
sures of the flesh seemed more desirable to them 
than tliD glory of the saints. Satan offered them the 
one, and God offered them the other ; and they had 
free liberty to choose which they would, and they 



100 CHARACTER OF THOSE FOR 

chose "the pleasures of sin for a season," before the 
everlasting rest with Christ. And is it not a right- 
eous thing that they should be denied that which 
they would not accept ? When God pressed them 
so earnestly, and persuaded them so importunately, 
to come in, and yet they would not, where should 
they be but among the dogs without ? Though man 
be so wicked that he will not yield till the mighty 
power of grace prevail with him, yet still we may 
truly say that he may be saved, if he will, on God's 
terms. His inability being moral, and lying in will 
ml wickedness, is no more excuse to him, than it is 
to an adulterer that he cannot love his own wife, or 
to a malicious person that he cannot but hate his own 
brother : is he not so much the worse, and deserving 
of so much the sorer punishment ? Sinners shall lay 
all the blame on their own wills in hell for ever. 
Hell is a rational torment by conscience, according 
to the nature of the rational subject. If sinners 
could but then say, It was God's fault, and not ours, 
it would quiet their consciences and ease their tor- 
ments, and make hell, to them, to be no hell. But 
to remember their willfulness, will feed the fire, and 
cause the worm of conscience " never to die." 

It is the will of God that this rest should yet re. 
main for his people, and not be enjoyed till they 
come to another world. Who should dispose of the 
creatures, but he that made them? You may as well 
ask why have we not spring and harvest without 






WHOM THIS REST IS DESIGNED. 101 

winter ? or, why is the earth below and the heavens 
above ? as, why we have not rest on earth ? All 
things must come to their perfection by degrees. 
The strongest man must first be a child. The great- 
est scholar must first begin with the alphabet. The 
tallest oak was once an acorn. This life is our in- 
fancy: and would we be perfect in the womb, or 
born at full stature ? If our rest was here, most of 
God's providences must be useless. Should God 
lose the glory of his church's miraculous deliveran- 
ces, and the fall of his enemies, that men may have 
their happiness here ? If we were all happy, inno- 
cent, and perfect, what use was there for the glorious 
work of our sanctification, justification, and future 
salvation? — If we wanted nothing, we should not 
depend on God so closely, nor call upon him so ear- 
nestly. How little would he hear from us, if we had 
what we would have ! God would never have had 
such songs of praise from Moses at the Red Sea 
and in the wilderness, from Deborah and Hannah, 
from David and Hezekiah, if they had been the 
choosers of their own condition. Have not thy own 
highest praises to God, reader, been occasioned by 
thy dangers or miseries ? The greatest glory and 
praise God has through the world, is for redemp 
don, reconciliation, and salvation by Christ; and 
was not man's misery the occasion of that ? — And 
where God loses the opportunity of exercising his 
mercies, man must needs lose the happiness of en- 
s. r. 9* 



102 CHARACTER OF THOSE FOR 

joying them. Where God loses his praise, man will 
certainly lose his comforts. O the sweet comforts 
the saints have had in return for their prayers! 
How should we know what a tender-hearted Father 
we have, if we had not, as the prodigal, been denied 
the husks of earthly pleasure and profit ? We should 
never have felt Christ's tender iieart, if we had not 
felt ourselves " weary and heavy laden, hungry and 
thirsty, poor and contrite." It is a delight to a sol- 
dier, or traveler, to look back on his escapes when 
they are over ; and for a saint in heaven, to look 
back on his sins and sorrows upon earth ; his fears 
and tears, his enemies and dangers, his wants and 
calamities must make his joy more joyful. There- 
fore the blessed, in praising the Lamb, mention his 
u redeeming them out of every nation, and kindred, 
and tongue ;" and so out of their misery, and wants, 
and sins, " and making them kings and priests to 
God." But if they had had nothing but content and 
rest on earth, what room would there have been for 
these rejoicings hereafter ? 

Besides, toe are not capable of rest upon earth. — 
Can a soul that is so weak in grace, so prone to sin, 
so nearly joined to such a neighbor as this flesh, 
have full content and rest in such a case? What is 
soul-rest, but our freedom from sin, and imperfec- 
tions, and enemies ? And can the soul have rest that 
is molested with all these, and that continually? 
Why do Christians so often cry out, in the language 



WHOM THIS REST IS DESIGNED. 103 

of Paul, " O wretched man that I am ! who shall 
deliver me ?" What makes them " press toward the 
mark, and run that they may obtain, and strive to 
enter in," if they are capable of rest in their present 
condition ? — And our bodies are incapable as well 
as our souls. They are not now those sun-like bo- 
dies which they shall be, when this " corruptible 
hath put on incorruption, and this mortal hath put 
on immortality." They are our prisons and bur bur- 
dens ; so full of infirmities and defects, that we are 
fain to spend most of our time in repairing them and 
supplying their continual wants. Is it possible that 
an immortal soul should have rest in such a distem- 
pered habitation ? Surely these sickly, weary, loath- 
some bodies must be refined, before they can be 
capable of enjoying rest. The objects which we 
here enjoy are insufficient to afford us rest. Alas ! 
what is there in all the world to give us rest? They 
that have most of it have the greatest burden. They 
that set most by it, and rejoice most in it, do all cry 
out at last of its vanity and vexation. Men promise 
themselves a heaven upon earth; but when they 
come to enjoy it, it flies from them. He that has 
any regard to the works of the Lord, may easily see 
that the very end of them is to take down our idols, 
to make us weary of the world, and seek our rest 
in him. Where does he cross us most, but where 
we promise ourselves most content % If you have a 
child you dote upon, it becomes your sorrow. If 



104 CHARACTER OF THOSE FOR 

you have a friend you trust in, and judge unchange* 
able, he becomes your scourge. Is this a place or 
state of rest ? And as the objects we here enjoy are 
insufficient for our rest, so God, who is sufficient, i& 
here little enjoyed. It is not here that he hath pre 
pared the presence-chamber of his glory. He hath 
drawn the curtain between us and him. We are 
far from him as creatures, and farther as frail mor- 
tals, and farthest as sinners. We hear now and 
then a word of comfort from him, and receive his 
love-tokens to keep up our hearts and hopes ; but 
this is not our full enjoyment. And can any soul, 
that hath made God his portion, as every one hath 
that shall be saved by him, find rest in so vast a dis- 
tance from him, and so seldom and small enjoyment 
of him? 

Nor are we now capable of rest, as there is a 
worthiness must go before it. Are we fit for the 
crown before we have overcome % or for the prize 
before we have run the race ? or to receive our pen- 
ny before we have wrought in the vineyard ? or to 
be rulers of ten cities before we have improved our 
ten talents ? or to enter into the joy of our Lord be- 
fore we have well done as good and faithful ser- 
vants ? God will not alter the course of justice, tc 
give you rest before you have labored for the crown 
of glory, till you have overcome. There is reason 
enough why our rest should remain till the life to 
come. Take heed, then, Christian reader, how thou 



WHOM THIS REST IS DESIGNED 105 

darest to contrive and care for a rest on earth ; or to 
murmur at God for thy trouble, and toil, and wants 
in the flesh. Doth thy poverty weary thee? thy 
sickness, thy bitter enemies and unkind friends ? 
It should be so here. Do the abominations of the 
times, the sins of professors, the hardening of th« 
wicked, all weary thee ? It must be so while thou 
art absent from thy rest. Do thy sins and thy 
naughty distempered heart weary thee? Be thus 
wearied more and more. But. under all this weari- 
ness, art thou willing to go to God, thy rest ; and to 
have thy warfare accomplished, and thy race and 
labor ended ? If not, complain more of thy own heart, 
and get it more weary, till rest seem more desirable. 
I have but one thing more to add, for the close of 
this chapter — that the souls of believers do enjoy in- 
conceivable blessedness and glory, even while they 
remain separated from their bodies. What can be 
more plain than those words of Paul : " We are al- 
ways confident, knowing that whilst we are at home," 
or rather sojourning, " in the body, we are absent 
from the Lord; for we walk by faith, not by sight. 
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be 
absent from the body, and to be present with the 
Lord." Or those: " I am in a strait betwixt two, hav- 
ing a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which 
is far better." If Paul had not expected to enjoy 
Christ till the resurrection, why should he be in a 
straU, or desire to depart ? Nay, should he not have 



106 CHARACTER OF THOSE FOR 

been lotli to depart upon the very same grounds ? 
for while he was in the flesh he enjoyed something 
of Christ. Plain enough is that of Christ to the 
thief — " To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise.'* 
In. the parable of Dives and Lazarus, it seems un- 
likely Christ would so evidently intimate and sup- 
pose the soul's happiness or misery presently after 
death, if there were no such matter. Our Lord's 
argument for the resurrection supposes, that, " God 
being not the God of the dead, but of the living,'' 
therefore Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were then liv- 
ing in the soul. If the "blessedness of the dead that 
die in the Lord" were only in resting in the grave, 
then a beast or a stone were as blessed ; nay, it were 
evidently a curse, and not a blessing. For was not 
life a great mercy? Was it not a greater mercy to 
serve God and to do good ; to enjoy all the comforts 
of life, the fellowship of saints, the comfort of ordi- 
nances, and much of Christ in all, than to lie rot- 
ting in the grave ? Therefore some further blessed- 
ness is there promised. How else is it said, ** We 
are come to the spirits of just men made perfect?" 
Surely, at the resurrection, the body will be made 
perfect as well as the spirit. The Scriptures tel I us, 
that Enoch and Elias are taken up already. And 
shall we think they possess that glory alone ? Did 
not Peter, James, and John see Moses also with 
Christ on the mount ? yet the Scripture saith, Moses 
died. And is it likely that Christ deluded tha ; y 



WHOM THIS REST IS DESIGNED. 107 

senses, m showing them Moses, if he should not 
partake of that glory till the resurrection ? And is 
not that of Stephen as plain as we can desire ? " Lord 
Jesus, receive my spirit." Surely, if the Lord re- 
ceive it, it is neither asleep, nor dead, nor annihilat- 
ed ; but it is where he is, and beholds his glory. 
That of the wise man is of the same import : " The 
spirit shall return unto God who gave it." Why 
are we said to " have eternal life ;" and that to " know 
God is life eternal;" and that a believer "on the 
Son hath everlasting life?" Or how is "the kinq-- 
dom of God within us ?" If there be as great an in- 
terruption of our life as till the resurrection, this is 
no eternal life, nor everlasting kingdom. " The 
cities of Sodom and Gomorrah " are spoken of as 
suffering the vengeance of eternal fire !" And if the 
wicked already suffer eternal fire, then no doubt 
but the godly enjoy eternal blessedness. When 
John saw his glorious revelations, he is said to be 
" in the Spirit," and to be " carried away in the Spi- 
rit." And when Paul was "caught up to the third 
heaven," he knew not " whether in the body or out 
of the body." This implies that spirits are capable 
of these glorious things, without the help of their 
bodies. The same is implied when John says, " I 
saw under the altar the souls of them that were si am 
for the word of God." When Christ says, " Fear 
not them who kill the body, but are not able to kill 
the soul," does it not plainly imply, that when wick- 



IG8 CHARACTER OF THOSE, & . 

ed men have killed our bodies, that is, have sepa- 
rated the souls from them, yet the souls are still 
alive ? The soul of Christ was alive when his body 
was dead, and therefore so shall be ours too. This 
appears by his words to the thief, " To-day shalt 
thou be with me in Paradise ;" and also by his voice 
on the cross, " Father, into thy hands I commend 
my Spirit." If the spirits of those that " were dis- 
obedient in the days of Noah were in prison," that 
is, in a living and suffering state ; then, certainly, 
the separate spirits of the just are in an opposite con- 
dition of happiness. Therefore, faithful souls will 
no sooner leave their prisons of flesh but angels 
shall be their convoy ; Christ, with all the perfected 
spirits of the just, will be their companions ; heaven 
will be their residence, and God their happiness. 
When such die, they may boldly and believingly 
say, as Stephen, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit;" 
and commend it, as Christ did, into a Father's hands. 



THE GREAT MISERY OF THOSE, &c. 109 

CHAPTER V. 

THE GREAT MISERY OF THOSE WHO LOSE THE SAINTS* REST. ^ 

J. The loss of heaven includes^ 1. The personal perfection of 
the saints ; 2. Goal himself ; 3. All delightful affections to- 
wards God; 4. The blessed society of angels and glorified 
spirits. II. The aggravations of the loss of heaven; 1. The 
understanding of the ungodly will then be cleared; 2. Also 
enlarged. 3. Their consciences will make & true and close 
application. 4. Their affections will be more lively. 5. Their 
memories will be large and strong. 

If thou, reader, art a stranger to Christ, and to 
the holy nature and life of his people, who have 
been described, and shalt live and die in this condi- 
tion, let me tell thee, thou shalt never partake of the 
joys of heaven, nor have the least taste of the saints' 
eternal rest. I may say, as Ehud to Eglon, " I have 
a message to thee from God ;" that, as the word of 
God is true, thou shalt never see the face of God 
with comfort. This sentence I am commanded to 
pass upon thee ; take it as thou wilt, and escape it 
if thou canst. I know thy humble and hearty sub- 
jection to Christ would procure thy escape ; he would 
then acknowledge thee for one of his people, and give 
thee a portion in the inheritance of his chosen. If 
this might be the happy success of my message, I 
should be so far from repining, like Jonah, that the 
threatenings of God are not executed upon thee, that 

1Q Saints' Rest. 



110 MISERY OF THOSE WHO 

I should bless the day that ever God made me so 
happy a messenger. But if thou end thy days in 
thy unregenerate state, as sure as the heavens are 
over thy head, and the earth under thy feet, thou 
shalt be shut out of the rest of the saints, and receive 
thy portion in everlasting fire. I expect* thou wilt 
turn upon me, and say, When did God show you 
the Book of Life, or tell you who they are that shall 
be saved, and who shut out? I answer, I do not 
name thee, nor any other ; I only conclude it of the 
unregenerate in general, and of thee, if thou be such 
a one. Nor do I go about to determine who shall 
repent, and who shall not ; much less, that thou shalt 
never repent. I had rather show thee what hopes 
thou hast before thee, if thou wilt not sit still and 
lose them. I would far rather persuade thee to 
hearken in time, before the door be shut against 
thee, than tell thee there is no hope of thy repenting 
and returning. But, if the foregoing description of 
the people of God does not agree with the state of 
thy soul, is it then a hard question whether thou 
shalt ever be saved % Need I ascend up into heaven 
to know that " without holiness no man shall see 
the Lord :" or, that only "the pure in heart shall see 
God ;" or, that " except a man be born again, he can- 
not enter into the kingdom of God?" Need I go up 
to heaven to inquire that of Christ which he came 
down to earth to tell us, and sent his Spirit in his 
apostles to tell us, and which he and they have left 



LOSE THE SAINTS* REST. Ill 

upon record to all the world ? And though I know 
not the secrets of thy heart, and therefore cannot tell 
thee by name, whether it be thy state or not ; yet, if 
thou art but willing and diligent, thou mayst know 
thyself whether thou art an heir of heaven or not, 
It is the main thing I desire, that, if thou art yet 
miserable, thou mayst discern and escape it. But 
how canst thou escape, if thou neglect Christ and 
salvation % It is as impossible as for the devils them- 
selves to be saved ; nay, God has more plainly and 
frequently spoken it in Scripture of such sinners as 
thou art, than he has of the devils. Methinks a sight 
of thy case would strike thee with amazement and 
horror. When Belshazzar " saw the fingers of a 
man's hand that wrote upon the wall, his counte- 
nance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, 
so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his 
knees smote one against another.il What trembling, 
then, should seize on thee, who hast the hand of God 
himself against thee, not in a sentence or two, but in 
the very scope of the Scriptures, threatening the loss 
of an everlasting kingdom ! Because I would fain 
have thee lay it to heart, I will show thee, first, the 
nature of thy loss of heaven ; secondly, its aggrava- 
tions. 

First, In their loss of heaven, the ungodly lose — 
the saints' personal perfection — God himself — all 
delightful affections toward God — and the blessed 
society of angels and saintb. 



112 MISERY OF THOSE WHO 

1, The glorious personal perfection, 'which the 
saints enjoy in heaven, is the great loss of the un- 
godly. They lose that shining lustre of the body 
surpassing the brightness of the sun at noon-day. 
Though the bodies of the wicked will be raised 
more spiritual than they were upon earth, yet 
that will only make them capable of the more 
exquisite torments. They would be glad then, if 
every member were a dead member, that it might 
not feel the punishment inflicted on it ; and if the 
whole body were a rotten carcass, or might lie down 
again in the dust. Much more do they want that 
moral perfection which the blessed partake of; those 
holy dispositions of mind ; that cheerful readiness to 
do the will of God ; that perfect rectitude of all their 
actions : instead of these, they have that perverse- 
ness of will, that lothing of good, that love to evil, 
that violence of riission, which they had on earth. 
It is true, their understandings will be much cleared 
by the ceasing of former temptations, and experience 
ing the falsehood of former delusions ; but they have 
the same dispositions still, and fain would they com- 
mit the same sins, if they could : they want but op- 
portunity. There will be a greater difference be- 
tween these wretches and the glorified Christian, 
than there is betwixt a toad and the sun in the fir- 
mament. " The rich man's purple and fine linen, 
and sumptuous fare," did not so exalt him above 
M Lazarus while at his gate, full of sores." 



LOSE THE SAINTS' REST. 113 

2. They siall have no comfortable relation to 
God, nor communion with him.' 11 As they did not like 
to retain God in their knowledge," but said unto 
him, " Depart from us, for we desire not the know- 
ledge of thy ways ;" so God will abhor to retain 
them in his household. He will, never admit them 
to the inheritance of his saints, nor endure them to 
stand in his presence ; but " will profess unto them, 
I never knew you ; depart from me, ye that work 
iniquity." They are ready now to lay as confident 
claim to Christ and heaven, as if they were sincere 
believing saints. The swearer, the drunkard, the 
whoremonger, the worldling can say, Is not God 
our Father as well as yours % But when Christ se- 
parates his followers from his foes, and his faithful 
friends from his deceived flatterers, where, then, will 
be their presumptuous claim ? Then they shall find 
that God is not their Father, because they would 
not be his people. As they would not consent that 
God by his Spirit should dwell in them, so the taber- 
nacle of wickedness shall have no fellowship with 
him, nor the wicked inhabit the city of God. Only 
they that walked with God here shall live and be 
happy with him in heaven. Little does the world 
know what a loss that soul hath who loses God ! 
What a dungeon would the earth be, if it had lost 
the sun! what a loathsome carrion the body, if it 
had lost the soul ! Yet all these are nothing to the 
loss of God. As the enjoyment of God is the hea- 

s. r 10* 



114 MISERY OF THOSE WHO 

ven of the saints, so the loss of God is the hell of the 
ungodly ; and as the enjoying of God is the enjoy- 
ing of all, so the loss of God is the loss of all. 

3. They also lose all delightful affections toward 
God ; that transporting knowledge ; those delightful 
views of his glorious face ; the inconceivable plea- 
sure of loving him ; the apprehensions of his infi- 
nite love to us ; the constant joys of his saints, and 
the rivers of consolation with which he satisfies 
them. Is it nothing to lose all this ? The employ- 
ment of a king in ruling a kingdom, does not so 
far exceed that of the vilest slave, as this heavenly 
employment exceeds that of an earthly king. God 
suits men's employment to their natures. Your 
hearts, sinners, were never set upon God in your 
lives, never warmed with his love, never longed af- 
ter the enjoyment of him ; you had no delight in 
speaking or hearing of him ; you had rather have 
continued on earth, if you had known how, than to 
be interested in the glorious praises of God. Is it 
meet, then, that you should be members of the celes- 
tial choir ? 

4. They shall be deprived of the blessed society 
of angels and glorified saints. Instead of being 
companions of those happy spirits, and numbered 
with those triumphant kings, they must be mem- 
bers of the corporation of hell, where they shall 
have companions of a far different nature and quali- 
ty. Scorning and abusing the saints, hating them; 



LOSE THE SAINTS 1 REST. 115 

and rejoicing at their calamities, was not the way 
to obtain their blessedness. Now you are shut out 
of that company, from which you first shut out 
yourselves ; and are separated from them, with 
whom vou would not be ioined. You could not 
endure them in your houses, nor towns, nor scarce 
in the kingdom. You took them, as Ahab did Eli- 
jah, for the "troublers of the land;" and, as the 
apostles were taken, for " men that turned the world 
upside down." If any thing fell out amiss, you 
thought all was owing to them. When they were 
dead or banished, you were glad they Avere gone, 
and thought the country well rid of them. They 
molested you by faithfully reproving your sins. 
Their holy conversation troubled your consciences, 
to see them so far excel you. It was a vexation to 
you to hear them pray or sing praises in their fa- 
milies. And is it any wonder if you be separated 
from them hereafter % The day is near when they 
will trouble you no more. Betwixt them and you 
will be a great gulf fixed. Even in this life, .while 
the saints were "mocked, destitute, afflicted, tor- 
mented," and while they had their personal imper- 
fections, yet, in the judgment of the Holy Ghost, 
they were such " of whom the world was not wor- 
thy." Much more unworthy will the world be of 
their fellowship in glory. 

Secondly. I know many will be ready to think 
they could spare these things in this world well 



116 MISERY OF THOSE WHO 

enough, and why may they not be without them 
in the world to come? Therefore, to show them 
that this loss of heaven will then be most torment- 
ing, let them now consider — their understandings 
will be cleared to know their loss, and have more 
enlarged apprehensions concerning it ; their con- 
sciences will make a closer application of it to them- 
selves ; their affections will no longer be stupified, 
nor their memories be treacherous. 

1 . The understanding of the ungodly will then 
he cleared to know the worth of that ivhich they have 
lost. Now they lament not their loss of God, be- 
cause they never knew his excellence ; nor the loss 
of that holy employment and society, for they were 
never sensible what they were worth. A man that 
has lost a jewel, and took it but for a common stone, 
is never troubled at his loss ; but when he comes to 
know what he lost, then he laments it. Though 
the understandings of the damned will not be sancti- 
fied, yet they will be cleared from a multitude of 
errors. They now think that their honors, estates, 
pleasures, health, and life are better worth their 
•labor than the things of another world; but when 
these things have left them in misery, when they 
experience the things which before they did but 
read and hear of, they will be of another mind. 
They would not believe that water would drown, 
till they were in the sea ; nor the fire burn, till they 
were cast into it : but when they feel, they will easi- 



LOSE THE SAINTS 7 REST. 117 

ly believe. All that error of mind which made them 
set light by God, and abhor his worship, and vilify 
his people, will then be confuted and removed by 
experience. Their knowledge shall be increased, 
that their sorrows may be increased. Poor souls ! 
they would be comparatively happy, if their under- 
standings were wholly taken from them, if they had 
no more knowledge than idiots, or brute beasts ; or 
if they knew no more in hell than they did upon 
earth, their loss would less trouble them. How 
happy would they then think themselves, if they 
did not know there is such a place as heaven ! Now, 
when their knowledge would help to prevent their 
misery, they will not know, or will not read or study 
that they may know ; therefore, when their know- 
ledge will but feed their consuming fire, they shall 
know, whether they will or not. They are now in 
a dead sleep, and dream that they are the happiest 
men in the world ; but when death awakes them, 
how will their judgments be changed in a moment ! 
and thev that would not see, shall then see, and be 
ashamed. 

2. As their understanding will be cleared, so it will 
be more enlarged, and made more capacious to con- 
ceive the worth of that glory which they have lost. 
The strength of their apprehensions, as well as the 
truth of them, will then be increased. What deep 
apprehensions of the wrath of God, the madness of 
sinning, the misery of sinners, have those souls that 



118 MISERY OF THOSE WHO 

now endure this misery, in comparison with those 
on earth that do but hear of it ! What sensibility 
of the worth of life has the condemned man that is 
going to be executed, compared with what he was 
wont to have in the time of his prosperity ! Much 
more will the actual loss of eternal blessedness 
make the damned exceedingly apprehensive of the 
greatness of their loss ; and as a large vessel will 
hold more water than a shell, so will their more en- 
larged understandings contain more matter to feed 
their torment, than their shallow capacity can now do. 
3. Their consciences also will make a truer and 
closer application of this doctrine to themselves, 
which will exceedingly tend to increase their tor- 
ment. It Will then be no hard matter to them to say, 
" This is my loss ! and this is my everlasting re- 
mediless misery l'' The want of this self-application 
is the main cause why they are so little troubled 
now. They are hardly brought to believe that there 
is such a state of misery ; but more hardly to believe 
that it is like to be their own. This makes so many 
sermons lost to them, and all threatenings and warn- 
ings in vain. Let a minister of Christ show them 
their misery ever so plainly and faithfully, they will 
not be persuaded they are so miserable. Let him 
tell them of the glory they must lose, and the suffer- 
ings they must feel, and they think he means not 
them, but some notorious sinners. It is one of the 
hardest things in the world to bring a wicked man 



LOSE THE SAINTS' REST. 119 

to know that he is wicked, or to make him see him- 
self in a state of wrath and condemnation. Though 
they may easily find, by their strangeness to the new- 
birth, and their enmity to holiness, that they never 
were partakers of them ; yet they as verily expect to 
see God, and be saved, as if they were the most 
sanctified persons in the world. How seldom do 
men cry out, after the plainest discovery of their 
state, I am the man ! or acknowledge, that, if they 
die in their present condition, they are undone for 
ever ! But when they suddenly find themselves in 
the land of darkness, feel themselves in scorching 
flames, and see they are shut out of the presence of 
God forever; then the application of God's anger 
to themselves will be the easiest matter in the world ; 
they will then roar out these forced confessions, " O 
my misery ! O my folly ! O my inconceivable, irre- 
coverable loss !" 

4. Then will their affections likewise be more 
lively, and no longer stupified. A hard heart now 
makes heaven and hell seem but trifles. We have 
showed them everlasting glory and misery, and they 
are as men asleep ; our words are as stones cast 
against a wall, which fly back in our faces. We talk 
of terrible things, but it is to dead men ; we search 
the wounds, but they never feel us ; we speak to 
rocks rather than to men ; the earth will as soon 
tremble as they. But when these dead souls are re- 
vived, what passionate sensibility, what working af- 



120 MISERY OF THOSE WHO 

fections, what pangs of horror, what depth of sorrow 
will there then be ! How violently will they fly in 
their own faces ! How will they rage against their 
former madness ! The lamentations of the most af- 
fectionate wife for the loss of her husband, or of the 
tenderest mother for the loss of her children, will be 
nothing to theirs for the loss of heaven. O the self- 
accusing and self-tormenting fury of those forlorn 
creatures! How will they even tear their own 
hearts, and be God's executioners upon themselves ! 
As themselves were the only meritorious cause ot' 
their sufferings, so themselves will be the chief execu- 
tioners. Even Satan, as he was not so great a cause 
of their sinning as themselves, will not be so great 
an instrument of their torment. How happy would 
they think themselves then, if they were turned into 
rocks, or any thing that had neither passion nor 
sense ! How happy, if they could then feel as lightly 
as they were wont to hear ! if they could sleep out 
the time of execution, as they did the time of the ser- 
mons that warned them of it ! But their stupidity is 
gone : it will not be. 

5. Their memories will moreover be as large and 
strong as their understanding and affections. Could 
they but lose the use of their memory, their loss of 
heaven, being forgot, would little trouble them. 
Though they would account annihilation a great 
mercy, they cannot lay aside any part of their being. 
Understanding, conscience, affections, memory, must 



LOSE THE SAINTS' REST. 121 

all live to torment them, which should have helped 
to their happiness. As by these they should have 
fed upon the love of God, and drawn forth perpetu- 
ally the joys of his presence, so by these must they 
feed upon his wrath, and draw forth continually the 
pains of his absence. Now they have no leisure to 
consider, nor any room in their memories for the 
things of another life ; but then they shall have no- 
thing else to do ; their memories shall have no other 
employment. God would have had the doctrine of 
their eternal state " written on the posts of their doors, 
on their hands and hearts :" he would have them 
mind ft, " and mention it when they lay down and 
rose up, when they sat in their houses, and when 
they walked by the way;" and seeing they rejected 
this counsel of the Lord, therefore it shall be written 
always before them in the place of their thraldom, 
that, which way soever they look, they may still be- 
hold it. It will torment them to think of the great- 
ness of the glory they have lost. If it had been what 
they could have spared, or a loss to be repaired with 
any thing else, it had been a smaller matter. If it 
had been health, or wealth, or friends, or life, it had 
been nothing. But, O ! to lose that exceeding eter- 
nal weight of glory ! It will also torment them to 
think of the possibility they once had of obtaining it. 
Then they will remember, " Time was, when I was 
as fair for the kingdom as others. I was set upon 
the stage of the world ; if I had believed in Christ, I 

S. R. 11 



122 MISERY OF THOSE WHO 

might now have had possession of the inheritance, 
I who am now tormented with these damned fiends, 
might have been among yonder blessed saints. The 
Lord did set before me life and death ; and having 
chosen death, I deserve to suffer it. The prize was 
held out before me ; if I had run well, I might have 
obtained it ; if I had striven, I might have had the 
victory ; if I had fought valiantly, I had been 
crowned." It will yet more torment them to re- 
member that their obtaining the crown was not only 
possible, but very probable. It will wound them to 
think, " I had once the gales of the Spirit ready to 
have assisted me. I w T as proposing to be another 
man, to have cleaved to Christ, and forsake the 
world. I was almost resolved to have been wholly 
for God. I was once even turning from my base 
seducing lusts. I had cast off my old companions, 
and was associating with the godly. Yet I turned 
back, lost my hold, and broke my promises. I w r as 
almosc persuaded to be a real Christian, yet I con- 
quered those persuasions. What workings were in 
my heart, when a faithful minister pressed home the 
truth ! O how fair was I once for heaven ! I almost 
had it, and yet I have lost it. Had I followed on to 
seek the Lord, I had now been blessed among the 
saints." 

It will exceedingly torment them to remember 
their lost opportunities. " How many weeks, and 
months, and years did I lose, which if I had im- 



LOSE THE SAINTS' REST. 123 

proved, I might now have been happy! Wretch 
that I was ! could I find no time to study the work, 
for which I had all my time? no time, among all 
my labors, to labor for eternity ? Had I time to eat, 
and drink, and sleep, and none to save my soul ? 
Had I time for mirth and vain discourse, and none 
for prayer % Could I take time to secure the world, 
and none to try my title to heaven ? O precious 
time ! I had once enough, and now I must have no 
more. I had once so much, I knew not what to do 
with it ; and now it is gone, and cannot be recalled. 
O that I had but one of those years to live over 
again ! how speedily would I repent ! how earnestly 
would I pray ! how diligently would I hear ! how 
closely would I examine my state? how strictly 
would I live ! but it is now too late, alas ! too late.' 5 
It will add to their calamity to remember how 
often they were persuaded to return. " Fain would 
the minister have had me escape these torments. 
With what love and compassion did he beseech me ! 
and yet I did but make a jest of it. How oft did 
he convince me ! and yet I stifled ajl these convic- 
tions. How did he open to me my very heart ! and 
yet I was loth to know the worst of myself. O 
how glad would he have been, if he could have 
seen me cordially turn to Christ ! My godly friends 
admonished me ; they told me what would become 
of my willfulness and negligence at last ; but I nei- 
ther believed nor regarded them. How long did 



124 MISERY OF THOSE WHO 

God himself condescend to entreat me ! How did 
the Spirit strive with my heart, as if he was loth 
to take a denial ! How did Christ stand knocking, 
one Sabbath after another, and crying to me, * Open, 
sinner, open thy heart to thy Savior, and I will 
come in and sup with thee, and thou with me !' 
Why dost thou delay ? How long shall thy vain 
thoughts lodge within thee ? Wilt thou not be par- 
doned, and sanctified, and made happy? When 
shall it once be?" O how the recollection of such 
divine pleadings will passionately transport the 
damned with self-indignation ! " Must I tire out the 
patience of Christ ? Must I make the God of heaven 
follow me in vain, till I had wearied him with cry- 
ing to me, Repent ! return ! O how justly is that 
patience now turned into fury, which falls upon me 
with irresistible violence ! When the Lord cried to 
me, ' Wilt thou not be made clean ? When shall it 
once be ?' my heart, or at least my practice, answer- 
ed, Never. And now, when I cry, How long shall 
it be till I am freed from this torment ? how justly 
do I receive the same answer, Never, never !" 

It will also be most cutting to remember on what 
easy terms they might have escaped their misery. 
Their work was not to remove mountains, nor con- 
quer kingdoms, nor fulfill the law to the smallest tit- 
tle, nor satisfy justice for all their transgressions. 
44 The yoke was easy and the burden light" which 
Christ would have laid upon them. It was but to 



LOSE THE SAINTS* REST. 125 

repent and cordially accept him for their Savior ; 
to renounce all other happiness, and take the Lord 
for their supreme good ; to renounce the world and 
the flesh, and submit to his meek and gracious go- 
vernment ; and to forsake the ways of their own de- 
vising, and walk in his holy, delightful way. " Ah," 
thinks the poor tormented wretch, " how justly do I 
suffer all this, who would not be at so small pains 
to avoid it ! Where was my understanding when I 
neglected that gracious offer ; when I called ' the Lord 
a hard master, 7 and thought his pleasant service a 
bondage, and the service of the devil and the flesh the 
only freedom? Was I not a thousand times worse 
than mad, when I censured the holy way of God as 
needless preciseness ; when I thought the laws of 
Christ too strict, and all too much that I did for the 
life to come ? What would all sufferings for Christ 
and well-doing have been, compared with these suf- 
ferings that I must undergo for ever ? Would not the 
heaven, which I have lost, have recompensed all my 
losses % And would not all my sufferings have been 
there forgotten ? What if Christ had bid me to do 
some great matter ; whether to live in continual fears 
and sorrows, or to suffer death a hundred times 
over : should I not have done it ? How much more, 
when he only said, ' Believe, and be saved. Seek my 
face, and thy soul shall live. Take up thy cross and 
follow me, and I will give thee everlasting life. 7 O 

S. R. 11* 



126 MISERY OF THOSE WHO 

gracious offer ! O easy terms ! O cursed wretch, 
that would not be persuaded to accept them !" 

This also will be a most tormenting consideration, 
to remember/or what they sold their eternal welfare. 
When they compare the value of the pleasures of 
sin with the value of "the recompense of reward," 
how will the vast disproportion astonish them ! To 
think of the low delights of the flesh, or the applaud- 
ing breath of mortals, or the possessing heaps 
of gold, and then to think of everlasting glory. 
44 This is all f had for my soul, my God, my 
hopes of blessedness !" It cannot possibly be ex- 
pressed how these thoughts will tear his very heart 
Then will he exclaim against his folly : 4t O misera- 
ble wretch ! Did I set my soul to sale for so base a 
price % Did I part with my God for a little dirt and 
dross ; and sell my Savior, as Judas, for a little sil- 
ver? I had but a dream of delight for my hopes of 
heaven ; and, now I am awakened, it is all vanished. 
My morsels are now turned to gall, and my cups to 
wormwood. When they were past my taste, the 
pleasure perished. And is this all that I have had 
for the inestimable treasure ? What a mad exchange 
did I make ! What if I had gained all the world, 
and lost my soul ! But, alas ! how small a part of 
the world was it for which I gave up heaven !" O 
that sinners would think of this, when they are 
swimming in the delights of the flesh, and studying 
how to be rich and honorable m the world ! when 



LOSE THE SAINTS REST. 127 

they are desperately venturing upon known trans- 
gression, and sinning against the checks of con- 
science ! 

It will add yet more to their torment, when they 
consider that they most willfully procured their own 
destruction. Had they been forced to sin, it would 
much abate the rage of their consciences ; or if they 
were punished for another man's transgressions ; 
or any other had been the chief author of their ruin. 
But to think it was the choice of their own will, and 
that nOne in the world could have forced them to sin 
against their wills ; this will be a cutting thought. 
M Had I not enemies enough in the world," thinks 
this miserable creature, " but I must be an enemy to 
myself? God would never give the devil, nor the 
world, so much power over me as to force me to 
commit the least transgression. They could but en- 
tice : it was myself that yielded and did the evil. 
And must I lay hands upon my own soul, and im- 
brue my hands in my own blood ? Never had I so 
great an enemy as myself. Never did God offer any 
good to my soul but I resisted him. He hath heap- 
ed mercy upon me, and renewed one deliverance 
after another, to draw my heart to him ; yea, he hath 
gently chastised me, and made me groan under the 
fruit of my disobedience; and though I promised 
largely in my affliction, yet never was I heartily 
willing to serve him." Thus will it gnaw the hearts 
of these sinners, to remember that they were the 



128 MISERY OF THOSE WHO 

cause of their own ruin ; and that they willfully and 
obstinately persisted in their rebellion, and were 
mere volunteers in the service of the devil. 

The wound in their consciences will be yet deeper, 
when they shall not only remember it was their own 
doing, but that they were at so much cost and pains 
for their own damnation. What great undertakings 
did they engage in to effect their ruin ; to resist the 
Spirit of God ; to overcome the power of mercies, 
judgments, and even the word of God ; to subdue 
the power of reason, and silence conscience ! All 
this they undertook and performed. Though they 
walked in continual danger of the wrath of God, 
and knew he could lay them in the dust, and cast 
them into hell in a moment ; yet would they run 
upon all this. O the labor it costs sinners to be 
damned ! Sobriety, with health and ease, they might 
have had at a cheaper rate ; yet they will rather 
have gluttony and drunkenness, with poverty, shame, 
and sickness. Contentment they might have, with 
ease and delight : yet they will rather have covet- 
ousness and ambition, though it costs them cares 
and fears, labor of body and distraction of mind. 
Though their anger be self-torment, and revenge 
and envy consume their spirits; though unclean- 
ness destroy their bodies, estates, and good names ; 
yet will they do and suffer all this, rather than suf- 
fer their souls to be saved. With what rage will 
they lament their folly, and say, " Was damnation 



LOSE THE SAINTS' REST. 129 

worth all my cost and pains? Might I not have 
been damned on free cost, but I must purchase it so 
dearly ? I thought I could have been saved without 
so much ado, and could I not have been destroyed 
without so much ado? Must I so laboriously work 
out my own damnation, when God commanded me 
to * work out my own salvation V If I had done as 
much for heaven as I did for hell, I had surely had 
it. I cried out of the tedious way of godliness, and 
the painful course of self-denial ; and yet I could 
be at a great deal more pains for Satan and for 
death. Had I loved Christ as strongly as I did my 
pleasures, and profits, and honors, and thought on 
him as often, and sought him as painfully, O how 
happy had I now been ! How justly do I suffer 
the flames of hell for buying them so dear, rather 
than have heaven, when it was purchased to my 
hands !" 

O that God would persuade thee, reader, to take 
up these thoughts now, for preventing the incon- 
ceivable calamity of taking them up in hell as thy 
own tormentor ! Say not that they are only imagi- 
nary. Read what Dives thought, being in torments. 
As the joys of heaven are chiefly enjoyed by the 
rational soul in its rational actings, so must the 
pains of hell be suffered. As they will be men still, 
so will they feel and act as men. 



130 MISERY OF THOSE WHO 



CHAPTER VI. 



THE MISERY OF THOSE WHO, BESIDES LOSING THE SAINTS' REST, 
LOSE THE ENJOYMENTS OF TIME, AND SUFFER THE TORMENTS 
OF HE%L. 

/. The enjoyments of time which the damned lose : 1. Their 
presumptuous belief of their interest in God and Christ : 
2. All their hopes ; 3. Jill their 'peace of conscience ; 4. All 
their carnal mirth ; 5. Ml their sensual delights. II. The tor- 
ments of the damned a/re exceeding great, 1. The principal 
Author of them is God himself. 2. The place or state of tor- 
ment. 3. These torments are the effects of divine vengeance. 
4. God will take pleasure in executing them. 5. Satan and 
sinners themselves will be God's executioners. 6. These tor- 
ments will be universal; 7. Without any mitigation; 8. 
And eternal. The obstinate sinner convinced of his folly in 
venturing on these torments ; and entreated to fly for safety 
to Christ. 

As " godliness hath a promise of the life that now 
is, and of that which is to come ;" and if we " seek 
first the kingdom of God and his righteousness," 
then all meaner " things shall be added unto us ;" 
so also are the ungodly threatened with the loss 
both of spiritual and temporal blessings ; and be- 
cause they sought not first God's kingdom and right- 
eousness, therefore shall they lose both it and that 
which they did seek, and there " shall be taken 
from them that little which they have." If they 
could but have kept their present enjoyments, they 
would not have much cared for the loss of heaven. 



SUFFER THE TORMENTS OF HELL. 131 

If they had " lost and forsaken all for Christ," they 
would have found all again in him ; for he would 
have been all in all to them. But, now they have for- 
sook Christ for other things, they shall lose Christ, 
and that also for which they forsook him, even the 
enjoyments of time, besides suffering the torments 
of hell 

First. They shall lose the enjoyments of time ; 
particularly their presumptuous belief of their inte- 
rest in the favor of God and the merits of Christ — 
all their hopes — all their false peace of conscience 
— all their carnal mirth-— and all their sensual de- 
lights. 

1. They shall lose their presumptuous belief of 
their interest in the favor of God and the merits of 
Christ. This false belief now supports their spirits, 
and defends them from the terrors that would other- 
wise seize upon them. But what will ease their 
trouble, when they can believe no longer, nor rejoice 
any longer 1 If a man be near to the greatest mis- 
chief, and yet strongly conceit that he is in safety, 
he may be as cheerful as if all were well. If there 
were no more to make a man happy, but to believe 
that he is so, or shall be so, happiness would be far 
more common than it is like to be. As true faith is 
the leading grace in the regenerate, so is false faith 
the leading vice in the unregenerate. Why do such 
multitudes sit still when they might have pardon, 
but that they verily think they are pardoned already ? 



13$ 



MISERY OF THOSE WHO 



If you could ask thousands in hell, what madness 
brought them thither ? they would most of them an- 
swer, " We made sure of being saved, till we found 
ourselves damned. We would have been more ear- 
nest seekers of regeneration and the power of godli- 
ness, but we verily thought we were Christians be- 
fore. We have flattered ourselves into these tor- 
ments, and now there is no remedy." Reader, I 
must in faithfulness tell thee, that the confident 
belief of their good state, which the careless, un- 
holy, unhumbled multitude so commonly boast of, 
will prove in the end but a soul-damning delusion. 
There is none of this believing in hell. It was Sa- 
tan's stratagem, that being blindfold, they might fol- 
low him the more boldly ; but then he will uncover 
their eyes, and they shall see where they are. 

2. They shall lose also all their hopes. In this 
life, though they were threatened with the wrath of 
God, yet their hope of escaping it bore up their 
hearts. We can now scarce speak with the vilest 
drunkard, or swearer, or scoffer, but he hopes to be 
saved, for all this. O happy world, if salvation were 
as common as this hope ! Nay, so strong are men's 
hopes, that they will dispute the cause with Christ 
himself at judgment, and plead their "having ate 
and drank in his presence, and prophesied in his 
name, and in his name cast out devils ;" they will 
stiffly deny that ever they neglected Christ in hun- 
ger, nakedness, or in prison, till he confutes them 



SUFFER THE TORMENTS OF HELL. 133 

with the sentence of their condemnation. O the sad 
6tate of those men, when they must bid farewell to 
all their hopes ! " When a wicked man dieth his 
expectation shall perish 5 and the hope of unjust 
men perisheth. The eyes of the wicked shall fail, 
and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as 
the giving up of the ghost." The giving up the 
ghost is a fit, but terrible resemblance of a wicked 
man giving up his hopes. As the soul departeth 
not from the body without the greatest pain, so doth 
the hope of the wicked depart. The soul departs 
from the body suddenly, in a moment, which hath 
there delightfully continued so many years ; just so 
doth the hope of the wicked depart. The soul will 
never more return to live with the body in this world ; 
and the hope of the wicked takes an everlasting fare- 
well of his soul. A miracle of resurrection shall 
again unite soul and body, but there shall be no such 
miraculous resurrection of the damned' s hope, Me- 
thinks it is the most pitiable sight this world affords, 
to see such an ungodly person dying, and to think 
of his soul and his hopes departing together. With 
what a sad change he appears in another world ! 
Then if a man could but ask that hopeless soul, 
44 Are you as confident of salvation as you were wont 
to be ?" what a sad answer would be returned ! O 
that careless sinners would be awakened to think of 
this in time ! Reader, rest not till thou canst give 
a reason of all thy hopes grounded upon Scripture 
s. r. 12 



134 MISERY OF THOSE WHO 

promises : that they purify thy heart ; that they 
quicken thy endeavors in godliness ; that the more 
thou hopest the less thou sinnest, and the more ex- 
act is thy obedience. If thy hopes be such as these, 
go on in the strength of the Lord, hold fast thy hope, 
and ' k never shall it make thee ashamed." But if 
thou hast not one sound evidence of a work of grace 
on thy soul, cast away thy hopes. Despair of ever, 
being saved, " except thou be born again j" or of 
" seeing God, without holiness ;" or of having part 
in Christ, except thou " love him above father, mo- 
ther, or thy own life." This kind of despair is one 
of the first steps to heaven. If a man be quite out of 
his way, what must be the first means to bring him 
in again ? He must despair of ever coming to his 
journey's end in the way that he is in. If his home 
be eastward, and he is going westward, as long as 
he hopes he is right, he will go on ; and as long as 
he goes on hoping, he goes further amiss. When he 
despairs of coming home, except he turn back, then 
he will return, and then he may hope. Just so it is, 
sinner, with thy soul : thou art born out of the way 
to heaven, and hast proceeded many a year ; thou go- 
est on and hopest to be saved, because thou art not 
so bad as many others. Except thou throw away 
those hopes, and see that thou hast all this while been 
quite out of the way to heaven, thou wilt never re- 
turn and be saved. There is nothing in the world 
more likely to keep thy soul out of heaven than thy 



SUFFER THE TORMENTS OF HELL. 135 

false hopes of being saved, while thou art out of the 
way to salvation. See then how it will aggravate 
the misery of the damned, that, with the loss of hea- 
ven, they shall lose all that hope of it which now 
supports them. 

3. They will lose all that false peace of con- 
science which makes their present life so easy. Who 
would think, that sees how quietly the multitude of 
the ungodly live, that they must very shortly lie 
down in everlasting flames ? They are as free from 
the fears of hell as an obedient believer ; and for the 
most part have less disquiet of mind than those who 
shall be saved. Happy men, if this peace would 
prove lasting ! " When they shall say, Peace and 
safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, 
as travail upon a woman with child ; and they shall 
not escape." O cruel peace, which ends in such a 
war ! The soul of every man by nature is Satan's 
garrison ; all is at peace in such a man till Christ 
comes and gives it terrible alarms of judgment and 
hell, batters it with the ordnance of his threats and 
terrors, forces it to yield to his mere mercy, and take 
him for the Governor ; then doth he cast out Satan, 
"overcome him, take from him all his armor where- 
in he trusted, and divideth his spoils," and then doth 
he establish a firm and lasting peace. If, therefore, 
thou art yet in that first peace, never think it will 
endure. Can thy soul have lasting peace, in enmity 
with Christ? Can he have peace, against whom 



136 MISERY OF THOSE WHO 

God proclaims war ? I wish thee no greater good, 
than that God break in upon thy careless heart, and 
shake thee out of thy false peace, and make thee lie 
down at the feet of Christ, and say, " Lord, what 
wouldst thou 'have me to do?" and so receive from 
him a better and surer peace, which will never be 
quite broken, but be the beginning of thy everlasting 
peace, and not perish in thy perishing, as the ground - 
less peace of the world will do. 

4. They shall lose all their carnal mirth. They 
will themselves say of their " laughter, it is mad ; 
and of their mirth, what doeth it?" It was but "as 
the crackling of thorns under a pot." It made a 
blaze for a while, but it was presently gone, and re- 
turned no more. The talk of death and judgment 
was irksome to them, because it damped their mirth. 
They could not endure to think of their sin and dan- 
ger, because these thoughts sunk their spirits. They 
knew not what it was to weep for sin, or to humble 
themselves under the mighty hand of God. They 
could laugh away sorrow, and sing away cares, and 
drive away those melancholy thoughts. To meditate 
and pray, they fancied, would be enough to make 
them miserable, or run mad. Poor souls, what a 
misery will that life be, where you shall have no- 
thing but sorrow — intense, heart-piercing, multiplied 
sorrow; when you shall neither have the joys of 
saints, nor your own former joys ! Do you think 
there is one merry heart in hell 7 or one joyful coun- 



SUFFER THE TORMENTS OF HELL. 137 

tenance or jesting tongue? You now cry, " A little 
mirth is worth a great deal of sorrow. 1 ' But surely 
a little godly sorrow, which would have ended in 
eternal joy, had been worth much more than all your 
foolish mirth ; for the end of such mirth is sorrow. 

5. They shall also lose all their sensual delights. 
That which they esteemed their chief good, their 
heaven, their god, must they lose, as well as God 
himself. What a fall will the proud, ambitious man 
have from the top of his honors ! As his dust and 
bones will not be known from the dust and bones 
of the poorest beggar, so neither will his soul be 
honored or favored more than theirs. What a num- 
ber of the great, noble, and learned will be shut 
out from the presence of Christ ! They shall not 
find their magnificent buildings, soft beds, and easy 
couches. They shall not view their curious gar- 
dens, their pleasant meadows, and plenteous harvests. 
Their tables will not be so furnished nor attended. 
The rich man is there no more " clothed in purple 
and fine linen, nor fareth sumptuously every day." 
There is no expecting the admiration of beholders. 
They shall spend their time in sadness, and not in 
sports and pastimes. What an alteration will they 
then find ! The heat of their lust will be then abat- 
ed. How will it even cut them to the heart to look 
each other in the face ! What an interview will there 
then be, cursing the day that ever they saw one an- 
other ! O that sinners would now remember and say, 

s. it. 12* 



138 MISERY OF THOSE WHO 

" Will these deiights accompany us into the other 
world I Will not the remembrance of them be then 
our torment ? Shall we then take this partnership in 
vice for true friendship? Why should we sell such 
lasting, incomprehensible joys for a taste of seeming 
pleasure 1 Come, as we have sinned together, let us 
pray together, that God would pardon us ; and let 
us help one another toward heaven, instead of help- 
ing to deceive and destroy each other." O that men 
knew but what they desire, when they would so fain 
have all things suited to the desires of the flesh ! It 
is but to desire their temptations to be increased and 
their snares strengthened. 

Secondly. As the loss of the saints' rest will be 
aggravated by losing the enjoyments of time, it will 
be much more so by suffering the torments of heiL 
The exceeding greatness of such torments may ap- 
pear, by considering the principal Author of them, 
who is God himself— the place or state of torment- 
that these torments are the fruit of divine vengeance 
— that the Almighty takes pleasure in them — that 
Satan and sinners themselves shall be God's execu- 
tioners — that these torments shall be universal, with- 
out mitigation and without end. 

1. The principal Author of hell-torments is God 
himself. As it was no less than God whom the sin- 
ners had offended, so it is no less than God who will 
punish them for their offences. He hath prepared 
those torments for his enemies. His continued anger 



SUFFER THE TORMENTS OF HELL. 139 

will still be devouring them. His breath of indigna- 
tion will kindle the flames. His wrath will be an in- 
tolerable burden to their souls. If it were but a crea- 
ture they had to do with, they might better bear it. 
Wo to him that falls under the strokes of the Al- 
mighty ! " It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands 
of the living God." It were nothing in comparison 
to this, if all the world were against them, or if the 
strength of all creatures were united in one to inflict 
their penalty. They had now rather venture to dis- 
please God than displease a landlord, a customer, a 
master, a friend, a neighbor, or their own flesh ; but 
then they will wish a thousand times in vain, that 
they had been hated of all the world, rather than 
have lost the favor of God. What a consuming fire 
is his wrath ! If it be kindled here but a little, how 
do we " wither like the grass !" How soon doth our 
strength decay and turn to weakness, and our beauty 
to deformity ! The flames do not so easily run 
through the dry stubble, as the wrath of God will 
consume these wretches. They that could not bear 
a prison, or a gibbet, or a fire for Christ, nor scarce 
a few scoffs, how will they now bear the devouring 
flames of divine wrath % 

2. The "place or state of torment is purposely or- 
dained to glorify the justice of God. When God 
would glorify his power, he made the worlds. The 
comely order of all his creatures declareth his wis- 
dom. His providence is shown in sustaining all 



140 MISERY OF THOSE WHO 

things. When a spark of his wrath kindles upon 
the earth, the whole world, except only eight per- 
sons, are drowned ; Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and 
Zeboim are burnt with fire from heaven ; the sea 
shuts her mouth upon some, the earth opens and 
swallows up others ; the pestilence destroys by thou- 
sands. What a standing witness of the wrath of God 
is the present deplorable state of the Jews ! Yet the 
glorifying the mercy and justice of God is intended 
most eminently for the life to come. As God will 
then glorify his mercy in a way that is now beyond 
the comprehension of the saints that must enjoy it j 
so also will he manifest his justice to be indeed the 
justice of God. The everlasting flames of hell will 
not be thought too hot for the rebellious ; and, when 
they have there burned through millions of ages, he 
will not repent him of the evil which has befallen 
them. Wo to the soul that is thus set up as a butt 
for the wrath of the Almighty to shoot at ! and as a 
bush that must burn in the flames of his jealousy, 
and never be consumed ! 

3. The torments of the damned must be ex- 
treme, because they are the effect of divine ven- 
geance. Wrath is terrible, but revenge is implacable. 
When the great God shall say, " My rebellious 
creatures shall now pay for all the abuse of my pa- 
tience; remember how I waited your leisure in 
vain, how I stooped to persuade and entreat you ; 
did you think I would always be so slighted ? " then 



•UFFER THE TORMENTS OF HELL. 141 

will he be revenged for every abused mercy, and 
for all their neglects of Christ and grace. O that 
men would foresee this, and please God better in 
preventing their wo ! 

4. Consider also, that, though God had rather 
men would accept of Christ and mercy, yet, when 
they persist in rebellion, he will take pleasure in 
their execution. He tells us, " Fury is not in me ;" 
yet he adds, " Who would set the briers and thorns 
against me in battle ; I would go through them, I 
would burn them together." Wretched creatures I 
when " he that made them will not have mercy upon 
them, and he that formed them will show them no 
favor. As the Lord rejoiced over them to do them 
good ; so the Lord will rejoice over them to destroy 
them, and bring them to nought." Wo to the souls 
whom God rejoiceth to punish : " He will laugh at 
their calamity, he will mock when their fear cometh ; 
when their fear cometh as desolation, and their de- 
struction cometh as a whirlwind ; when distress and 
anguish cometh upon them." Terrible thing, when 
none in heaven or earth can help them but " God, 
and he shall rejoice in their calamity ! Though 
Scripture speaks of God's laughing and mocking, 
not literally, but after the manner of men ; yet it is 
an act of God in tormenting the sinner, which can- 
not otherwise be more fitly expressed. 

5. Consider that Satan and themselves shall be 
God r s executioners. He that was here so successful 



142 MISERY OF THOSE WHO 

in drawing them from Christ, will then be the in- 
strument of their punishment for yielding to his 
temptations. That is the reward he will give them 
for all their service ; for their rejecting the com- 
mands of God, forsaking Christ, and neglecting their 
souls at his persuasion. If they had served Christ 
as faithfully as they did Satan, he would have 
given them a better reward. It is also most just 
that they should be their own tormentors ; that they 
may see their whole destruction is of themselves; 
and then, whom can they complain of but themselves ? 
6. Consider also that their torment will be uni- 
versal As all parts have joined in sin, so must 
they all partake in the torment. The soul, as it was 
the chief in sinning, shall be the chief in suffering; 
and as it is of a more excellent nature than the body, 
so will its torments far exceed bodily torments ; and 
as its joys far surpass all sensual pleasures, so the 
pains of the soul exceed corporeal pains. It is not 
only a soul, but a sinful soul that must suffer. Fire 
will not burn, except the fuel be combustible ; but if 
the wood be dry, how fiercely will it burn ! The guilt 
of their sins will be to damned souls like tinder to 
gunpowder, to make the flames of hell take hold up- 
on them with fury, The body must also bear its part. 
That body which was so carefully looked to, so ten- 
derly cherished, so curiously dressed, what must it 
now endure ! How are its haughty looks now taken 
down ! How little will those flames regard its come- 






SUFFER THE TORMENTS OF HELL. 143 

Hness and beauty ! Those eyes, which were wont 
to be delighted with curious sights, must then see 
nothing but what shall terrify them ! an angry God 
above them, with those saints whom they scorned, 
enjoying the glory which they have lost ; and about 
them will be only devils and damned souls. How 
will they look back and say, " Are all our feasts, 
and games, and revels, come to this ?" Those ears, 
which were accustomed to music and songs, shall 
hear the shrieks and cries of their damned com- 
panions ; children crying out against their parents, 
that gave them encouragement and example in evil ; 
husbands and wives, masters and servants, ministers 
and people, magistrates and subjects, charging their 
misery upon one another, for discouraging in duty, 
conniving at sin, and being silent when they should 
have plainly foretold the danger. Thus will soul 
and body be companions in wo.' 

7. Far greater will these torments be, because 
without mitigation. In this life, when told of hell, 
or if conscience troubled their peace, they had com- 
forters at hand ; their carnal friends, their business, 
their company, their mirth. They could drink, play, 
or sleep away their sorrows. But now all these 
remedies are vanished. Their hard, presumptuous, 
unbelieving heart was a wall to defend them against 
trouble of mind. Satan was himself their comforter, 
as he was to our first mother : " Hath God said, ye 
shall not eat ? ye shall not surely die. Doth God 



144 MISERY OF THOSE WHO 

tell you that you shall lie in hell 1 it is no such 
matter ; God is more merciful. Or, if there be a 
hell, what need you fear it ? Are not you Chris- 
tians ? Was not the blood of Christ shed for you ?" 
Thus as the Spirit of Christ is the comforter of the 
saints, so Satan is the comforter of the wicked. 
Never was a thief more careful lest he should awake 
the people when he is robbing the house, than Sa- 
tan is not to awaken a sinner. But when the sin- 
ner is dead, then Satan hath done flattering and 
comforting. Which way, then, will the forlorn sin- 
ner look for comfort? They that drew him into 
the snare, and promised him safety, now forsake 
him, and are forsaken themselves. His comforts 
are gone, and the righteous God, whose forewarn- 
ings he made light of, will now make good his 
word against him to the least tittle. 

8. But the greatest aggravation of these torments 
will be their eternity. When a thousand millions 
of ages are past, they are as fresh to begin as the 
first day. If there were any hope of an end, it 
would ease the damned to foresee it ; but For ever 
is an intolerable thought ! They were never weary 
of sinning, nor will God be weary of punishing. 
They never heartily repented of sin, nor will God 
repent of their suffering. They broke the laws of 
the eternal God, and therefore shall suffer eternal 
punishment. They knew it was an everlasting 
kingdom which they refused, and what wonder it 



SUFFER THE TORMENTS OF HELL. 145 

they are everlastingly shut out of it ? Their immor- 
tal souls were guilty of the trespass, and therefore 
must immortally suffer the pains. What happy men 
would they think themselves, if they might have lain 
still in their graves, or might but there lie down 
again ! How will they call and cry, " O death, whi- 
ther art thou now gone % Now come and cut off this 
doleful life. O that these pains would break my 
heart, and end my being ! O that I might once at 
last die! O that I had never had a being !" These 
groans will the thoughts of eternity wring from 
their hearts. They were wont to think sermons and 
prayers long ; how long then will they think these 
endless torments ! What difference is there betwixt 
the length of their pleasures and their pains ! The 
one continued but a moment, the other endureth 
through all eternity. Sinner, remember how time 
is almost gone. Thou art standing at the door of 
eternity; and death is waiting to open the door, and 
put thee in. Go, sjeep out a few more nights, and 
stir about a few more days on earth, and then thy 
nights and days shall end : thy thoughts, and cares, 
and pleasures shall all be devoured by eternity; 
thou must enter upon the state which shall never be 
changed. As the joys of heaven are beyond our con- 
ception, so are the pains of hell. Everlasting tor- 
ment is inconceivable torment. 

But methinks I see the obstinate sinner desperately 
resolving " If I must be damned, there is no remedy. 

I o Saints' Rest. 



146 MISERY OF THOSE WHO 

Rather than I will live as the Scripture requires, I 
will put it to the venture ; I shall escape as well as 
the rest of my neighbors, and we will even bear it as 
well as we can." Alas ! poor creature, let me beg 
this of thee, before thou dost so flatly resolve, that 
thou wouldst lend me thy attention to a few ques- 
tions, and weigh them with the reason of a man. 
Who art thou, that thou shouldst bear the wrath oi 
God ? What is thy strength ? Is it not as the strength 
of wax or stubble to resist the fire ; or as chaff to the 
wind ; or as dust before the fierce whirlwind ? If thy 
strength were as iron, and thy bones as brass ; if thy 
foundation were as the earth, and thy power as the 
heavens, yet shouldst thou perish at the breath of his 
indignation. How much more, when thou art but 
a piece of breathing clay, kept a few days from 
being eaten with worms, by the mere support and 
favor of him whom thou art thus resisting ! Why 
dost thou tremble at the signs of almighty power and 
wrath ? at claps of thunder, or flashes of lightning ; 
or that unseen power which rends in pieces the 
mighty oaks, and tears down the strongest buildings ; 
or at the plague, when it rageth around thee ? If 
thou hadst seen the plagues of Egypf, or the earth 
swallow up Dathan and Abiram, or Elijah bring fire 
from heaven to destroy the captains and their com- 
panies, would not any of these sights have daunted 
thy spirit ? How then canst thou bear the plagues of 
hell ? Why art thou dismayed with such small su£ 



^UFFER THE TORMENTS OF HELL. 147 

ferings as befall thee here ? a toothache, a fit of the 
gout or stone, the loss of a limb, or falling into beg- 
gary and disgrace ? And yet all these laid together 
will be one day accounted a happy state, in compari- 
son of that which is suffered in hell. Why does the 
approach of death so much affright thee? O how 
cold it strikes to thy heart! And would not the 
grave be accounted a paradise, compared with that 
place of torment which thou slightest ? Is it an into- 
lerable thing to burn part of thy body by holding 
it in the fire ? What, then, will it be to suffer ten 
thousand times more for ever in hell ! The thought 
or mention of hell occasions disquiet in thy spirit ; 
and canst thou endure the torments themselves? 
Why doth the rich man complain to Abraham of 
his torments in hell ? or thy dying companions lose 
their courage, and change their haughty language ? 
Why cannot these make as light of hell as thyself? 
Didst thou never see or speak with a man under de- 
spair ? How uncomfortable was his talk ! how bur- 
densome his life! Nothing he possessed did him 
good: he had no sweetness in meat or drink; the 
sight of friends troubled him ; he was weary of life, 
and fearful of death. If the misery of the damned 
can be endured, why cannot a man more easily en- 
dure these foretastes of hell ? What if thou shouldst 
see the devil appear to thee in some terrible shape ! 
Would not thy heart fail thee, and thy hair stand on 
an end ? And how wilt thou endure to live for ever 



148 MISERY OF THOSE WHO 

where thou shalt have no other company but devils 
and the damned, and shalt not only see them, but be 
tormented with them and by them ? Let me once 
more ask, if the wrath of God be so light, why 
did the Son of God himself make so great a matter 
of it ] It made him " sw r eat, as it were, great drops 
of blood falling down to the ground." The Lord of 
life cried, " My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even 
unto death." And on the cross, " My God, rriy God, 
why hast thou forsaken me?" Surely if any one 
could have borne these sufferings easily, it would 
have been Jesus Christ. He had another measure 
of strength to bear it than thou hast. Wo to thee, 
sinner, for thy mad security ! Dost thou think to 
find that tolerable to thee, which was so heavy to 
Christ ? Nay, the Son of God is cast into a bitter 
agony and bloody sweat, only under the curse of the 
law ; and yet thou, feeble, foolish creature, makest 
nothing to bear also the curse of the Gospel, which 
requires a much sorer punishment. The good Lord 
bring thee to thy right mind by repentance, lest thou 
buy thy wit at too dear a rate ! 

And now, reader, I demand thy resolution. What 
use wilt thou make of all this 1 Shall it be lost to 
thee ? or wilt thou consider it in good earnest? Thou 
hast cast away many a warning of God ; wilt thou 
do so by this also 1 Take heed ; God will not al- 
ways stand warning and threatening. The hand of 
revenge is lifted up, the blow is coming, and wo to 



SUFFER THE TORMENTS OF HELL. 149 

hiin on whom it lighteth ! Dost thou throw away 
the "book, and say it speaks of nothing- but hell and 
damnation ? Thus thou usedst also to complain of 
the preacher. But wouldst thou not have us to tell 
thee of these things ? Should we be guilty of the 
blood of thy soul, by keeping silent that which God 
hath charged us to make known ? Wouldst thou pe- 
rish in ease and silence, and have us to perish with 
thee, rather than displease thee by speaking the 
truth ? If thou wilt be guilty of such inhuman cru- 
elty, God forbid we should be guilty of such sottish 
folly ! This kind of preaching or writing is the ready 
way to be hated ; and the desire of applause is so 
natural, that few delight in such a displeasing way. 
But consider, are these things true, or are they not? 
If they were not true, I would heartily join with thee 
against any that fright people without a cause. But 
if these threatenings be the word of God, what a 
wretch art thou, that wilt not hear it and consider it ! 
If thou art one of the people of God, this doctrine 
will be a comfort to thee, and not a terror. If thou 
art yet unregenerate, methinks thou shouldst be as 
fearful to hear of heaven as of hell, except the bare 
name of heaven or salvation be sufficient. Preach- 
ing heaven and mercy to thee is entreating thee to 
seek them, and not reject them ; and preaching hell 
is but to persuade thee to avoid it. If thou wert quite 
past hope of escaping it, then it were in vain to tell 
thee of hell ; but as long as thou art alive, there is 

S. R, 13* 



150 MISERY OF THOSE, &c 

hope of thy recovery, and therefore all means must 
be used to awake thee from thy lethargy. Alas ! 
what heart can now possibly conceive, or what tongue 
express, the pains of those souls that are under the 
wrath of God ! Then, sinners, you will be crying 
to Jesus Christ, " O mercy ! O pity, pity on a poor 
soui I" Why, I do now, in the name of the Lord 
Jesus, cry to thee, " O, have mercy, have pity, man, 
upon thy own soul !" Shall God pity thee, who wilt 
not be entreated to pity thyself? If thy horse see 
but a pit before him, thou canst scarcely force him 
in; and wilt thou so obstinately cast thyself into 
hell, when the danger is foretold thee 1 " Who can 
stand before the indignation of the Lord ? and who 
can abide the fierceness of his anger V 1 Methinks 
thou shouldst need no more words, but presently 
cast away thy soul-damnmg sins, and wholly deli- 
ver up thyself to Christ. Resolve on it immediate- 
ly, and let it be done, that I may see thy face in rest 
among the saints. May the Lord persuade thy heart 
to strike this covenant without any longer delay ! 
But if thou be hardened unto death, and there be no 
remedy, yet say not another day but that thou wast 
faithfully warned, and hadst a friend that would fain 
have prevented thy damnation. 



THE NECESSITY OF SEEKING, &c. 151 

CHAPTER VII. 



REST. 



1. The saints' rest surprisingly neglected. The author mourns 
the neglect, and excites the reader to diligence, by consider' 
ing, 1. The ends we aim at, the work we have to do, the short- 
ness and uncertainty of our time, and the diligence of our 
enemies ; 2. Our talents, mercies, relations to God, and our 
afflictions ; 3. What assistances we have, what principles we 
profess, and our certainty never to do enough ; 4. That every 
grace tends to diligence, and to trifle is lost labor ; that much 
time is misspent, and that our recompense and labor will be 
proportionable ; 5. That striving is the divine appointment ; 
all men do or will approve it ; the best Christians, at death, 
lament their icant of it ; heaven is often lost for warvkof it, 
but never obtained toithout it ; 6. God,, Christ, and the Holy 
Spirit are in earnest ; God is so in hearing and answering 
prayer ; ministers in their instructions and exhortations ; all 
the creatures in serving us ; sinners in serving the devil, as 
we vjere once, and now are, in worldly things, and in heaven 
and, hell are all in earnest. 

1. If there be so certain and glorious a rest for 
the saints, why is there no more industrious seeking 
after it ? One would think, if a man did but once 
hear of such unspeakable glory to be obtained, and 
believed what he heard to be true, he would be trans- 
ported with the vehemency of his desire after it, and 
would almost forget to eat and drink, and would care 
for nothing else, and speak of and inquire after no- 
thing else, but how to get this treasure. And yet 



152 THE NECESSITY OF SEEKIis^ 

people who hear of it daily, and profess to believe 
it as a fundamental article of their faith, do as little 
mind it, or labor for it, as if they had never heard of 
any such thing, or did not believe one word they 
hear. This reproof is more particularly applicable 
to the worldly-minded, the profane multitude, the 
formal professors, and even the godly themselves. 

The worldly-minded are so taken up in seeking 
the things below, that they have neither heart nor 
time to seek this rest. O foolish sinners, who hath 
bewitched you ? The world bewitches men into 
brute beasts, and draws them some' degrees beyond 
madness. See what riding and running, what scram- 
bling and catching for a thing of nought, while eter- 
nal rest lies neglected ! What contriving and caring 
to get a step higher in the world than their brethren, 
while they neglect, the kingly dignity of the saints! 
What insatiable pursuit of fleshly pleasures, while 
they look on the praises of God, the joy of angels, 
as a tiresome burden ! What unwearied diligence in 
raising their posterity, enlarging their possessions, 
(perhaps for a poor living from hand to mouth,) 
while judgment is drawing near ! but how it shall go 
with them then, never puts them to one hour's consi- 
deration ! What rising early and sitting up late, and 
laboring from year to year, to maintain themselves 
and children in credit till they die ! but what shall fol- 
low after, they never think on ! Yet these men cry, 
H May we not be saved without so much ado V* How 



i 



THE SAINTS 7 REST. 153 

early do they rouse up their servants to their labor ! 
but how seldom do they call them to prayer, or read- 
ing the Scriptures ! What hath this world done for its 
lovers and friends, that it is so eagerly followed and 
painfully sought after, while Christ and heaven stand 
by and few regard them ? or what will the world do 
for them for the time to come ? The common en- 
trance into it is through anguish and sorrow. The 
passage through it is with continual care and labor. 
The passage out of it is the sharpest of all. O un- 
reasonable, bewitched men ! Will mirth and plea- 
sure stick close to you ! Will gold and worldly glory 
prove fast friends to you in the time of your greatest 
need ? Will they hear your cries in the day of your 
calamity ? At the hour of your death, will they either 
answer or relieve you ? Will they go along with you 
to the other world, and bribe the Judge and bring you 
off clear, or purchase you a place among the blessed ? 
Why then did the rich man want " a drop of water 
to cool his tongue?" Or are the sweet morsels of 
present delight and honor of more worth than eter- 
nal rest ? And will they recompense the loss of that 
enduring treasure ? Can there be the least hope of 
any of these? Ah, vile, deceitful world! how oft 
have we heard thy most faithful servants at last 
complaining, " O, the world hath deceived me, and 
undone me! It flattered me in my prosperity, but 
now it turns me off in my necessity. If I had as 
faithfully served Christ as I have served it, he would 



154 THE NECESSITY OF SEEKING 

not have left me thus comfortless and hopeless." 
Thus they complain; and yet succeeding sinners 
will take no warning. 

As for the profane multitude, they will not be per- 
suaded to be at so much pains for salvation as to 
perform the common outward duties of religion. If 
they have the Gospel preached in the town where 
they dwell, it may be they will give the hearing to 
it one part of the day, and stay at home the other ; 
or if the master come to the congregation, yet part 
of his family must stay at home. If they have not 
the plain and powerful preaching of the Gospel, how 
few are there in a whole town who will travel a 
mile or two to hear abroad ; though they will go 
many miles to the market for provisions for their 
bodies ! They know the Scripture is the law of God, 
by which they must be acquitted or condemned in 
judgment ; and that " the man is blessed who delights 
in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth meditate 
day and night ;" yet will they not be at the pains to 
read a chapter once a day. If they carry a Bible to 
church, and neglect it all the week, this is the most 
use they make of it. Though they are commanded 
to pray without ceasing, and to pray always, yet they 
will neither pray constantly in their families, nor in se- 
cret. Though Daniel would rather be cast to the lions 
than forbear praying three times a day in his house, 
where his enemies might hear him ; yet these men 
will rather venture to be an eternal prey to Satan, 



THE saints' rest. 155 

the roaring lion, than thus seek their own safety. 
Or their cold and heartless prayers invite God to a 
denial ; for among men it is taken for granted, that 
he who asks but slightly and seldom, cares not much 
for what he asks. They judge themselves unworthy 
of heaven, who think it not worth their more con- 
stant and earnest requests. If every door was mark- 
ed where families do not, morning and evening, ear- 
nestly seek the Lord in prayer, and his wrath were 
poured out upon such prayerless families, our towns 
would be as places overthrown by the plague, the 
people being dead within, and the mark of judgment 
without. I fear, where one house would escape, ten 
would be marked out for death ; and then they might 
teach their doors to pray, " Lord, have mercy upon 
us," because the people would not pray themselves. 
But especially if we could see what men do in their 
secret chambers, how few would you find, in a whole 
town that spend one quarter of an hour, morning and 
night, in earnest supplication to God for their souls ! 
O how little do these men set by eternal rest ! Thus 
do they slothfully neglect all endeavors for their own 
welfare, except some public duty in the congrega- 
tion, which custom or credit engages them to. Per- 
suade them to read good books, learn the grounds of 
religion in their catechism, and sanctify the Lord's 
day in prayer, and meditation, and hearing the word, 
and forbearing all worldly thoughts and speeches ; 
and what a tedious life do they take this to be ! as 



156 THE NECESSITY OF SEEKING. 

if they thought heaven were not worth doing so 
much for. 

Another class are formal professors, who will be 
brought to any outward duty, but to the inward 
work of religion they will never be persuaded. 
They will preach, or hear, or read, or talk of hea- 
ven, or pray in their families, and take part with 
the persons or causes that are good, and desire to 
be esteemed among the godly ; but you can never 
bring them to the more spiritual duties ; as to be 
constant and fervent in secret prayer and medita- 
tion ; conscientious in self-examination ; heavenly- 
minded ; to watch over their hearts, words, and ways; 
to mortify the flesh, and not make provision to fulfill 
its lusts ; to love and heartily forgive an enemy, and 
prefer their brethren before themselves ; to lay all 
they have, or do, at the feet of Christ, and prize his 
service and favor before all ; to prepare to die and 
willingly leave all to go to Christ. Hypocrites will 
never be persuaded to any of these. If any hypo- 
crite entertains the Gospel with joy, it is only in the 
surface of his soul; he never gives the seed a ay 
depth of earth: it changes his opinion,- but never 
melts and new moulds his heart, nor sets up Christ 
there in full power and authority. As his religion 
lies most in opinion, so does his chief business and 
conversation. He is usually an ignorant, bold, con- 
ceited dealer in controversies, rather than an hum- 
ble embracer of known truth with love and obedi- 



THE SAINTS 1 REST. 157 

ence. By his slighting the judgments and persons 
of others, and seldom talking with seriousness and 
humility of the great things of Christ, he shows 
his religion dwells in the brain, and not in his 
heart. The wind of temptation carries him away 
as a feather because his heart is not established with 
Christ and grace. He never, in private conversa- 
tion, humbly bewails his soul's imperfections, or ten- 
derly acknowledges his unkindness to Christ ; but 
gathers his greatest comfort from his being of such 
a judgment or party. The like may be said of the 
worldly hypocrite, who chokes the Gospel with the 
thorns of worldly cares and desires. He is con- 
vinced that he must be religious, or he cannot be 
saved : and therefore he reads, and hears, and prays, 
and forsakes his former company and courses ; but he 
resolves to keep his hold of present things. His judg- 
ment may say, God is the chief good : but his heart 
and affections never said so. The world hath more 
of his affections than God, and therefore it is his 
god. Though he does not run after opinions and 
novelties, like the world, yet he will be of that 
opinion which will best serve his wordly advantage. 
And as one whose spirits are enfeebled by some 
pestilential disease, so this man's spirits being pos- 
sessed by the plague of a worldly disposition, how 
feeble is he in secret prayer ! how superficial in ex- 
amination and meditation ! how poor in heart-watch- 
ings ! how nothing at all in loving and walking 

\ 4 Saints' Rest. 



!58 THE NECESSITY OF SEEKING 

with God, rejoicing in him, or desiring him ! So 
that both these and many other sorts of hypocrites; 
though they will go with you in the easy outside of 
religion, yet will never be at the pains of inward 
and spiritual duties. 

And even the godly themselves are too lazy seek- 
ers of their everlasting rest. Alas ! what a dispro- 
portion is there between our light and heat, our 
profession and prosecution ! Who makes such haste 
as if it were for heaven 1 How still we stand ! how 
idly we work ! how we talk, and jest, and trifle 
away our time ! how deceitfully we perform the 
work of God ! how we hear, as if we heard not ! 
and pray, as if we prayed not ! and examine, and 
meditate, and reprove sin, as if we did it not ! and 
enjoy Christ, as if we enjoyed him not ! as if we 
had learned to use the things of heaven, as the 
apostle teacheth us to " use the things of the world !" 
What a frozen stupidity has benumbed us ! We are 
dying, and we know it, and yet we stir not ; we are 
at the door of eternal happiness or misery, and yet 
we perceive it not ; death knocks, and we hear it 
not ; God and Christ call and cry to us," To-day, if 
ye will hear my voice, harden not your hearts; 
work while it is day, for the night cometh, when 
none can work." Now ply your business, labor for 
your lives, lay out all your strength and time ; now 
or never ! and yet we stir no more than if we were 
Ihalf asleep. What haste do death and judgment' 



THE saints' rest. 159 

uiake ! how fast do they come on ! they are almost 
at us, and yet what little haste we make ! Lord, 
what a senseless, earthly, hellish thing is a hard 
heart ! Where is the man that is in earnest a Chris- 
tian? Methinks men every where make but a trifle 
of their eternal state. They look after it but a little 
by the by ; they do not make it the business of their 
lives. If I were not sick myself of the same dis- 
ease, with what tears should I mix this ink ! with 
what groans should 1 express these complaints ! 
and with what heart-grief should I mourn over this 
universal deadness ! 

Do magistrates among us seriously perform their 
work ? Are they zealous for God ? Do they build up 
his house ? Are they tender of his honor ? Do they 
second the word ; and manfully oppose sin and sin- 
ners, as the disturbers of our peace, and the only 
cause of all our miseries ? Do they improve all 
their power, wealth, and honor, and all their influ- 
ence, for the greatest advantage to the kingdom of 
Christ, as men that must shortly give an account of 
their stewardship ? 

How few are those ministers that are serious in 
their work ! Nay, how mightily do the very best 
fail in this ! Do we cry out of men's disobedience 
to the Gospel " in the demonstration of the Spirit," 
and. deal with sin as the destroying fire in our towns, 
and by force pull men out of it ? Do we persuade 
our people as those should that " know the terrors 



160 THE NECESSITY OF SEEKING 

of the Lord?" Do we press Christ, and regenera- 
tion, and faith, and holiness, believing that, without 
these, men can never have life ?" Do our bowels 
yearn over the ignorant, careless, obstinate multi- 
tude ? When we look them in the face, do our hearts 
melt over them, lest we should never see their faces 
in rest? Do we, as Paul, "tell them, weeping," of 
their fleshly and earthly disposition; "and teach 
them publicly, and from house to house, at all sea- 
sons, and with many tears ?" And do we entreat 
them, as for their soul's salvation ? Or rather, do 
we not study co gain the approbation of critica. 
hearers ; as if a minister's business were of no more 
weight but to tell a smooth tale for an hour, and 
look no more after the people till the next sermon ? 
Does not carnal prudence control our fervor, and 
make our discourses lifeless on subjects the most 
piercing? How gently do we handle those sins 
which will so cruelly handle our people's souls ! 
In a word, our want of seriousness about the things 
of heaven, charms the souls of men into formality, 
°nd brings them to this customary careless hearing, 
which undoes them. May the Lord .pardon the 
great sin of the ministry in this thing ; and, in par- 
ticular, my own ! 

And are the people more serious than magistrates 
or ministers? How can it be expected? Keader, 
look but to thyself, and resolve the question. Ask 
conscience, and suffer it to tell thee truly. Hast- 






THE SAINTS 7 REST. 161 

thou set thy eternal rest before thine eyes, as tho 
great business thou hast to do in this world ? Hast 
thou watched and labored with all thy might, " that 
no man take thy crown ?" Hast thou made haste, 
lest thou shouldst come too late, and die before thy 
work be done ? Hast thou pressed on, through 
crowds of opposition, "toward the mark, for the 
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus," 
still " reaching forth unto those things which are 
before?" Can conscience witness your secret cries, 
and groans, and tears ? Can your family witness 
that you taught them the fear of the Lord, and warn- 
ed them not to " go to that place of torment ?" Can 
your minister witness that he has heard you cry 
out, "What shall I do to be saved?" and that you 
have followed him with complaints against your cor- 
ruptions, and with earnest inquiries after the Lord ? 
Can your neighbors about you witness that you re- 
prove the ungodly, and take pains to save the souls 
of yo«c brethren? Let all these witnesses judge 
this day between God and you, whether you are in 
earnest about eternal rest. You can tell by his work 
whether your servant has loitered, though you did 
not see him ; so you may, by looking at your own 
work. Are your love to Christ, your faith, yourzeai, 
and other graces, strong or weak ? What are your 
joys 1 What is your assurance ? Is all in order with 
you? Are you ready to die, if this should be the 
day? Do the souls among whom you have con- 
s. r. 14* 



162 THE NECESSITY OF SEEKING 

versed, bless you? Judge by this, and it will quick- 
ly appear whether you have been laborers or loi- 
terers. 

O blessed rest, how unworthily art thou neglect- 
ed ! O glorious kingdom, how art thou underva- 
lued ! Little know the careless sons of men what a 
state they so mueh slight. If they once knew it, 
they would surely be of another mind. I hope thou, 
reader, art sensible, what a desperate thing it is to 
trifle about eternal rest, and how deeply thou hast 
been guilty of this thyself. And I hope, also, thou 
wilt not now suffer this conviction to die. Should 
the physician tell thee, " If you will observe but one 
thing, I doubt not to cure your disease," wouldst 
thou not observe it ? So I tell thee, if thou wilt ob- 
serve but this one thing for thy soul, I make no 
doubt of thy salvation ; shake off thy sloth, and put ■ 
to all thy strength, and be a Christian indeed: I 
know not then what can hinder thy happiness. As 
far as thou art gone from God, seek him with all 
thy heart, and no doubt thou shalt find him. As 
unkind as thou hast been to Jesus Christ, seek him 
heartily, obey him unreservedly, and thy salvation 
is as sure as if thou hadst it already. But, full as 
Christ's satisfaction is, free as the promise is, large 
as the mercy of God is, if thou only talk of these 
when thou shouldst eagerly entertain them, thou 
wilt be never the better for them : and if thou loiter 
when thou shouldst labor, thou wilt lose the crown. , 



THE SAINTS 1 REST. 163 

Fall to work, then, speedily and seriously, and bless 
God that thou hast yet time to do it. 

To show that I urge thee not without cause, I 
will here add a variety of animating considerations. 
Rouse up thy spirit, and, as Moses said to Israel, 
" set thy heart unto all the words which I testify 
unto thee this day ; for it is not a vain thing, because 
it is your life." May the Lord open thy heart, and 
fasten his counsel effectually upon thee ! 

1. Consider how reasonable it is that our dili- 
gence should be answerable to the ends we aim at, 
to the work we have to do, to the shortness and un- 
certainty of our time, and to the contrary diligence 
of our enemies. The ends of a Christian's desires 
and endeavors are so great, that no human under- 
standing on earth can comprehend them. What is 
so excellent, so important, or so necessary as the 
glorifying of God, the salvation of our own and 
other men's souls, by escaping the torments of hell, 
and possessing the glory of heaven ? And can a man 
be too much affected with things of such moment % 
Can he desire them too earnestly, or love them too 
strongly, or labor for them too diligently ? Do not 
we know, that if our prayers prevail not, and our 
labor succeeds not, we are undone for ever ? The 
work of a Christian here is very great and various. 
The soul must be renewed; corruptions must be 
mortified ; customs, temptations, and worldly inte- 
rests must be conquered ; flesh must be subdued ; 



164 THE NECESSITY OF SEEKING 

life, friends, and credit must be slighted; conscience, 
on good grounds, be quieted ; and assurance of par- 
don and salvation attained. Though God must give 
us these without our merit, yet he will not give them 
without our earnest seeking and labor. Besides, 
there is much knowledge to be got, many ordinances 
to be used, and duties to be performed ; every age, 
year and day, every place we come to, every person 
we deal with, every change of our condition, still 
require the renewing of our labor ; wives, children, 
servants, neighbors, friends, enemies, all of them 
call for duty from us. Judge, then, whether men 
that have so much business lying upon their hands, 
should not exert themselves ; and whether it be their 
wisdom either to delay or loiter. Time passeth on. 
Yet a few days, and we shall be here no more. 
Many diseases are ready to assault us. We, that are 
now preaching, and hearing, and talking, and walk- 
ing, must very shortly be carried and laid in the 
dust, and there left to the worms, in darkness and 
corruption ; we are almost there already ; we know 
not whether we shall have another sermon, or Sab- 
bath, or hour. How active should they be, who 
know they have so short a space for so great a work ! 
And we have enemies that are always plotting and 
laboring for our destruction. How diligent is Sa- 
tan in all kinds of temptations! Therefore "be so- 
ber, be vigilant ; because your adversary the devil, 
as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he 



THE saints' rest. 165 

nay devour ; whom resist steadfast in the faith." 
How diligent are all the " ministers of Satan ! false 
teachers, scoffers, persecutors," and our inbred cor- 
ruptions, the most busy and diligent of all ! Will a 
feeble resistance serve our turn ? Should not we be 
more active for our own preservation, than our ene- 
mies are for our ruin ? 

2. It should excite us to diligence, when we con- 
sider our talents and our mercies, our relation to 
God, and the afflictions he lays upon us. The talents 
which we have received are many and great. What 
people breathing on earth have had plainer instruc- 
tions, or more forcible persuasions, ot more constant 
admonitions, in season and out of season ? sermons, 
till Ave have been weary of them, and Sabbaths, till 
we profaned them ; excellent books in such plenty 
that we knew not which to read ? What people have 
had God so near them % or have seen so much of 
Christ crucified before their eyes ? or have had 
heaven and hell so open unto them ? What speed 
should such a people make for heaven ! how should 
they fly that are thus winged ! and how swiftly 
should they sail that have wind and tide to help 
them ! A small measure of grace becomes not such 
a people, nor will an ordinary diligence in the work 
of God excuse them. All our lives have been filled 
with mercies. God hath mercifully poured out 
upon us the riches of sea and land, of heaven and 
earth We are fed and clothed with mercy. We 



166 THE NECESSITY OF SEEKING 

have mercies within and without. To number them, 
is to count the stars or the sands of the sea-shore. If 
there be any difference betwixt hell and earth, yea, or 
heaven and earth, then certainly we have received mer- 
cy. If the blood of the Son of God be mercy, then we 
are engaged to God by mercy. Shall God think 
nothing too much, nor too good for us ; and shall 
we think all too much that we do for him ? When I 
compare my slow and unprofitable life with the fre- 
quent and Avonderful mercies received, it shames me, 
it silences me, and leaves me inexcusable. Besides 
our talents and mercies, our relations to God are 
most endearing. Are we his children, and do we 
not owe him our most tender affections and dutiful 
obedience? Are we "the spouse of Christ," and 
should we not obey and love him % " If he be a Fa- 
ther, where is his honor ? and if he be a Master, 
where is his fear ? We call him Master, and Lord, 
and we say well." But if our industry be not an- 
swerable to our relations, we condemn ourselves in 
saying we are his children or his servants. How 
will the hard labor and daily toil which servants 
undergo to please their masters, judge and condemn 
those who will not labor so hard for their great Mas- 
ter % Surely there is no master like him ; nor can 
any servants expect such fruit of their labors as his 
servants. And if w T e wander out of God's way, or 
loiter in it, how is every creature ready to be his rod 
to bring us back, or urge us on ! Our sweetest mer- 



THE SAINTS 7 REST. 167 

cies will become our sorrows. Rather than want a 
rod, The Lord will make us a scourge to ourselves ; 
our diseased bodies shall make us groan ; our per- 
plexed minds shall make us restless ; our conscience 
shall be as a scorpion in our bosom. And is it not 
easier to endure the labor than the spur ? Had we 
rather be still afflicted, than be up and doing ? And 
though they that do most, meet also with afflictions ; 
yet surely, according to their peace of conscience 
and faithfulness to Christ, the bitterness of their cup 
is abated. 

2. To quicken our diligence in our work, we should 
also consider what assistances we have, what princi- 
ples we profess, and our certainty that we can never 
do too much. For our assistance in the service of 
God, all the world are our servants. The sun, moon, 
and stars attend us with their light and influence. 
The earth, with all its furniture of plants and flow- 
ers, fruits, birds, and beasts ; the sea, with its inha- 
bitants ; the air, the wind, the frost and snow, the 
heat and fire, the clouds and rain, all wait upon us 
while Ave do our work. Yea, " the angels are ail 
our ministering spirits." Nay more, the patience of 
God doth wait upon us ; the Lord Jesus Christ wait- 
eth in the offers of his blood ; the Holy Spirit wait- 
eth, by striving with our backward hearts ; besides 
the ministers of the Gospel, who study and wait, 
preach and wait, pray and wait upon careless sin- 
ners. And is it not an intolerable crime for us to 



168 THE NECESSITY OF SEEKING 

trifle, while angels and men, yea, the Lord himself, 
stand by and look on, and, as it were, hold us the 
candle while we do nothing? I beseech you, Chris- 
tians, whenever you are praying, or reproving trans- 
gressors, or upon any duty, remember what assist- 
ances you have for your work, and then judge how 
you ought to perform it. The principles we profess 
are, that God is the chief good ; that all our happi- 
ness consists in his love, and therefore it should be 
valued and sought above all things ; that he is our 
only Lord, and therefore chiefly to be served ; that 
we must love him with all our heart, and soul, and 
strength ; that our great business in the world is to 
glorify God and obtain salvation. Are these doc- 
trines seen in our practice ? or rather, do not our 
works deny what our words confess ? But, howevei 
our assistances and principles excite us to our work, 
we are sure we can never do too much. Could we 
<k do all, we are unprofitable servants ;" much more 
when we are sure to fail in all. No man can obey 
or serve God too much. Though all superstition, or 
service of our own devising, may be called a " being 
righteous over much ;" yet, as long as we keep to 
the rule of the word, we can never be righteous too 
much. The world is mad with malice when they 
think that faithful diligence in the service of Christ 
is foolish singularity. The time is near, when they 
will easily confess that God could not be loved or 
served too much, and that no man can be too earnest 



the saints' rest. 169 

to save his soul. We may easily do too much for 
the world, but we cannot for God. 

4, Let us further consider that it is the nature of 
every grace to promote diligence, that trifling in the 
way to heaven is lost labor, that much precious time 
is already mis-spent, and thai in proportion to our 
labor will be our recompense. See the nature and 
tendency of every grace. If you loved God, you 
would think nothing too much that you could pos- 
sibly do to serve him and please him still more. 
Love is quick and impatient; active and observant. 
If you love Christ, you would keep his command- 
ments, nor accuse them of too much strictness. If 
you had faith, it would quicken and encourage you. 
If you had the hope of glory, it would, as the spring 
in the watch, set all the wheels of }rour souls a-going. 
If you had the fear of God, it would rouse you out 
of your slothfulness. If you had zeal, it would in- 
flame, and eat you up. In what degree soever thou 
art sanctified, in the same degree thou wilt be seri- 
ous and laborious in the work of God. They that 
trifle lose their labor. Many, who, like Agrippa, are 
but almost Christians, will find, in the end, they shall 
be but almost saved. If two be running in a race, 
he that runs slowest loses both prize and labor. A 
man that is lifting at a weight, if he put not suffi- 
cient strength to it, had as good put none at all. 
How many duties have Christians lost for want of 
doing them thoroughly ! " Many will seek to enter 

J 5 Saints' Rest. 



170 THE NECESSITY OF SEEKING 

in, and shall not be able," who, if they had striven, 
might have been able. Therefore, put to a little 
more diligence and strength, that all you have done 
already be not in vain. Besides, is not much pre' 
clous time already lost ? With some of us, childhood 
and youth are gone ; with some, their middle age 
also ; and the time before us is very uncertain. What 
time have we slept, talked, and played away, or spent 
in worldly thoughts and cares I How little of our 
work is done ! The time we have lost cannot be re- 
called ; should we not, then, redeem and improve the 
little which remains ? If a traveler sleep, or trifle 
most of the day, he must travel so much faster in 
the evening, or fall short of his journey's end. Doubt 
not but the recompense will be according to your la- 
bor. The seed which is buried and dead will bring 1 
forth a plentiful harvest. Whatever you do or suf- 
fer, everlasting rest will pay for all. There is no re- 
penting of labors or sufferings in heaven. There is 
not one sa}rs, " Would I had spared my pains, and 
prayed less, or been less strict, and done as the rest 
of my neighbors !" On the contrary, it will be their 
joy to look back upon their labors and tribulations, 
and to consider how the mighty power of God 
brought them through all. We may all say, as 
Paul, "I reckon that the sufferings" and labors "of 
this present time are not worthy to be compared 
with the glory which shall be revealed in us." We 
labor but for a moment, but we shall rest for ever. 



THE SAINTS 7 REST. 171 

Who would not put forth all his strength for one 
hour, when, for that hour's work, he may be a 
prince while he lives ? " God is not unrighteous to 
forget our work and labor of love." Will not "all 
our tears be wiped away," and all the sorrow of our 
duties be then forgotten ? 

5. Nor does it less deserve to be considered, that 
striving is the divinely appointed way of salvation ; 
that all men either do, or will approve it ; that the 
best Christians, at death, lament their negligence ; 
and that heaven itself is often lost for want of striv- 
ing, but is never had on easier terms.. The sove- 
reign wisdom of God has made striving necessary 
to salvation. Who knows the way to heaven better 
than the God of heaven ? When men tell us we are 
too strict, whom do they accuse, God or us? If it 
were a fault, it would lie in him that commands, and 
not in us who obey. These are the men that ask 
us whether we are wiser than all the world beside ; 
and yet they will pretend to be wiser than God. 
How can they reconcile their language with the 
laws of God ? " The kingdom of heaven suffereth 
violence, and the violent take it by force. Strive to 
enter in at the strait gate ; for many will seek to 
enter in, and shall not be able. Whatsoever thy hand 
flndeth to do, do it with thy might ; for there is no 
work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in 
the grave, whither thou goest Work out your own 
salvation with fear and trembling. Give diligence 



172 THE NECESSITY OF SEEKING 

to make your calling and election sure. If the righ- 
teous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly 
and the sinner appear?" Let them bring all the 
seeming reasons they can against the holy violence 
of the saints ; this sufficeth me to confute them all, 
that God is of another mind, and he hath commanded 
me to do much more than I do ; and though I could 
see no other reason for it, his will is reason enough. 
Who should make laws for us, but he that made us? 
and who should point out the way to heaven, but he 
that must bring us thither ? and who should fix the 
terms of salvation, but he that bestows the gift of sal- 
vation ? So that, let the world, the flesh, or the de- 
vil speak against a holy, laborious life, this is my 
answer, God hath commanded it. Nay, there never 
was, nor ever will be, a man but will approve such 
a life, and will one day justify the diligence of the 
saints. And who would not go that way which 
every man shall finally applaud? True, it is now 
"a way every where spoken against." But let me 
tell you, most that speak against it, in their judg- 
ments approve of it; and those that are now against 
it, will shortly be of another mind. If they come to 
heaven, their mind must be changed before they 
come there. If they go to hell, their judgment will 
then be altered, whether they will or not. Remem- 
ber this, you that love the opinion and way of the 
multitude. Why, then, will you not be of the opin- 
ion that all will be of? Why will you be of a judg- 



THE saints' rest. 173 

ment which you are sure, all of you, shortly to 
change % O that you were but as wise in this as 
those in hell ! Even the best of Christians, when 
they come to die, exceedingly lament their negli- 
gence. They then wish, " O that I had been a thou- 
sand times more holy, more heavenly, more labori- 
ous for my soul ! The world accuses me for doing 
too much, but my own conscience accuses me for 
doing too little. It is far easier bearing the scoffs 
of the world than the lashes of conscience. I had 
rather be reproached by the devil for seeking salva- 
tion, than reproved of God for neglecting it." How 
do their failings thus wound and disquiet them, who 
have been the wonders of the world for their hea- 
venly conversation! It is for want of diligence that 
heaven itself is lost. When they that have "heard 
the word, and anon with joy received it, and have 
done many things, and heard n the ministers of Christ 
gladly, shall yet perish, should not this rouse us out 
of our security ? How far hath many a man fol- 
lowed Christ, and yet forsook him when all worldly 
interests and hopes were to be renounced ! God hath 
resolved that heaven shall not be had on easier 
terms. Rest must always follow labor. " Without 
holiness, no man shall see the Lord." Seriousness 
is the very thing wherein consists our sincerity. If 
thou art not serious, thou art not a Christian. It is 
not only a high degree in Christianity, but the very 
life and essence of it. As fencers upon a stage dif- 

S. R. 15* 



174 THE NECESSITY OF SEEKING 

fer from soldiers fighting for their lives, so hypo- 
crites differ from serious Christians. If men could 
be saved without this serious diligence, they would 
never regard it; all the excellencies of God's ways 
would never entice them. But when God hath re 
solved, that, without serious diligence here, we shal] 
not rest hereafter is it not wisdom to exert ourselves 
to the utmost ? 

6. But to persuade thee, if possible, reader, to be 
serious in thy endeavors for heaven, let me add 
more considerations : As, for instance, consider — 
God is in earnest with you; and why should yon 
not be so with him ? In his commands, his threaten- 
ings, his promises, he means as he speaks. In his 
judgments he is serious. Was he not so when he 
drowned the world, when he consumed Sodom and 
Gomorrah, and when he scattered the Jews ? Is it 
time, then, to trifle with God ? Jesus Christ was 
serious in purchasing our redemption. In teaching, 
he neglected his meat and drink : in prayer, he 
continued all night : in doing good, his friends 
thought him beside himself: in suffering, he fasted 
forty days, was tempted, betrayed, spit upon, buffet- 
ed, crowned with thorns, sweat drops of blood, was 
crucified, pierced, died. There was no jesting in 
all this. And should we not be serious in seeking 
our own salvation % The Holy Spirit is serious in 
soliciting us to be happy. His motions are frequent, 
pressing, and importunate. " He striveth with us.' 1 



the saints' rest. 175 

He is grieved when we resist him ; and should we 
not be serious, then, in obeying and yielding to his 
motions? God is serious in hearing our prayers 
and bestowing his mercies. He is afflicted with us. 
He " regardeth every groan and sigh, and puts 
every tear into his bottle." The next time thou art 
in trouble, thou wilt beg for a serious regard of thy 
prayers. And shall we expect real mercies, when 
we are slight and superficial in the work of God ? 
The ministers of Christ are serious in exhorting 
and instructing you. They beg of God, and of you ; 
and long more for the salvation of your souls, than 
for any worldly good. If they kill themselves for 
their labor, or suffer martyrdom for preaching the 
Gospel, they think their lives are well bestowed, so 
that they prevail for the saving of your souls. And 
shall other men be so painful and careful for your 
salvation, and you be so careless and negligent of 
your own ? How diligent and serious are all the 
creatures in serving you ! What haste makes the 
sun to compass the world ! The fountains are al- 
ways flowing for thy use; the rivers still running; 
spring and harvest keep their times. How hard 
does thy ox labor for thee from day to day ! How 
speedily does thy horse travel with thee ! And shalt 
thou only be negligent ? Shall all these be so seri- 
ous in serving thee, and thou so careless in thy ser- 
vice to God % The servants of the world and the 
devil are serious and diligent. They work as if 



176 THE NECESSITY OF SEEKING 

they could never do enough : they make haste, as if 
afraid of coming- to hell too late : they bear down 
ministers, sermons, and all before them. And shall 
they be more diligent for damnation, than thou for 
salvation ? Hast thou not a better Master, sweeter 
employment, greater encouragements, and a better 
reAvard ? Time was when thou wast serious thy- 
self in serving Satan and the flesh, if it be not so 
yet. How eagerly didst thou follow thy sports, thy 
evil company, and sinful delights I And wilt thou 
not now be as earnest and violent for God ? You 
are to this day in earnest about the things of this 
life. If you are sick or in pain, what serious com- 
plaints do you utter ! If you are poor, how hard 
do you labor for a livelihood ! And is not the busi- 
ness of your salvation of far greater moment? 
There is no iestin™ in heaven or hell. The saints 
have a real happiness, and the damned a real mis- 
ery. There are no remiss or sleepy praises in 
heaven, nor such lamentations in hell. All there 
are in earnest. When thou, reader, shalt come to 
death and judgment, O what deep, heart-piercing 
thoughts wilt thou have of eternity ! Methinks I 
foresee thee already astonished to think how thou 
couldst possibly make so light of these things. Me- 
thinks I even hear thee crying out of thy stupidity 
and madness. 

And now, reader, having laid down these unde- 
niable arguments, I do, in the name of God, de- 



THE saints' rest. 177 

inand thy resolution : wilt thou yield obedience or 
riot ? I am confident thy conscience is convinced of 
thy duty. Darest thou now go on in thy common, 
careless course, against the plain evidence of reason 
and commands of God, and against the light ot 
thy own conscience ? Darest thou live as loosely, 
sin as boldly, and pray as seldom as before ? 
Darest thou profane the Sabbath, slight the service 
of God, and think of thine everlasting state as care- 
lessly as before % Or dost thou not rather resolve 
to " gird up the loins of thy mind," and set thyself 
wholly to the work of thy salvation, and break 
through the oppositions, and slight the scofis and 
persecutions of the world, and " lay aside every 
weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset thee, 
and run with patience the race that is set before 
thee ?" I hope these are thy full resolutions. Yet, 
because I know the obstinacy of the heart of man, 
and because I am solicitous thy soul might live, I 
once more entreat thy attention to the following 
questions ; and I command thee from God, that 
thou stifle not thy conscience, nor resist conviction ; 
but answer them faithfully, and obey accordingly. 
If by being diligent in godliness, you could grow 
rich, get honor, or preferment in the world, be re- 
covered from sickness, or live for ever in prosperity 
on earth, what lives would you lead, and what pains 
would you take in the service of God ? And is not the 
saints' rest a more excellent happiness than all this % 



178 THE NECESSITY OF SEEKING? 

If it were felony to break the Sabbath, neglect se- 
cret or family worship, or be loose in your lives, 
what manner of persons would you then be ? And 
is not eternal death more terrible than temporal ? Jt 
God usually punished with some present judgment 
every act of sin, as he did the lie of Ananias and 
Sapphira, what kind of lives would you lead? And 
is not eternal wrath far more terrible ? If one of 
your acquaintance should come from the dead and 
tell you that he suffered the torments of hell for 
those sins you are guilty of, what manner of per- 
sons would you be afterwards ? How much more 
should the warnings of God affright you? If you 
knew that this were the last day you had to live in 
the world, how would you spend it ? And you 
know not but it may be your last, and are sure your 
last is near. If you had seen the general dissolu- 
tion of the world, and all the pomp and glory of it 
consumed to ashes, what would such a sight per 
suade thee to do? Such a sight you shall certainly 
see. If you had seen the judgment-seat, and tho 
books opened, and the wicked stand trembling on 
the left hand of the Judge, and the godly rejoicing 
on the right hand, and their different sentences pro- 
nounced, what persons would you have been after 
such a sight ! This sight you shall one day surely 
see. If you had seen hell open, and all the damned 
there in their endless torments ; also heaven opened, 
as Stephen did, and all the saints there triumphing 



THE SAINTS REST. 179 

in glory; what a life would you lead after such 
sights ! These you will sec before it be long. If 
you had lain in hell but one year, or one day, or 
hour, and there felt the torments you now hear of, 
how seriously would you then speak of hell, and 
pray against it ! And will you not take God's word 
for the truth of this, except you feel it % Or, if you 
naa possessed the glory of heaven but one year, 
what pains would you take rather than be deprived 
of such incomparable glory ! Thus I have said 
enough, if not to stir up the sinner to a serious 
working out his salvation, yet at least to silence 
him, and leave him inexcusable at the judgment of 
God. Only as we do by our friends when they are 
dead, and our words and actions can do them no 
good, yet to testify our affection for them we weep 
and mourn, so will I also do for these unhappy 
eouls. It makes my heart tremble to think how 
they will stand before the Lord, confounded and 
speechless ! When he shall say, " Was the world, 
or Satan, a better friend to you than I? or had 
they done for you more than I had done? Try now 
whether they will save you, or recompense you for 
the loss of heaven, or be as good to you as I would 
have been" — what will the wretched sinner answer 
to any of this 1 But, though man will not hear, we 
may hope in speaking to God. " O thou that didst 
weep and groan in spirit over a dead Lazarus, pity 
these dead and senseless souls, till they are able to 



180 THE NECESSITY OF SEEKING, &c. 

weep and groan in pity to themselves! As thou 
hast bid thy servants speak, so speak now thyself. 
They will hear thy voice speaking to their hearts, 
who will not hear mine speaking to their ears. Lord, 
thou hast long knocked at these hearts in vain ; 
now break the doors, and enter in." 

To show the godly why they, above all men, 
should be laborious for heaven, I desire to ask them, 
What manner of persons should those be whom 
God hath, chosen to be vessels of mercy? who have 
felt the smart of their negligence in their new birth, 
in their troubles of conscience, in their doubts and 
fears, and in other sharp afflictions ? who have often 
confessed their sins of negligence to God in prayer ? 
who have bound themselves to God by so many 
covenants? What manner of persons should they 
be, who are near to God as the children of his family ; 
who have tasted such sweetness in diligent obe- 
dience ; who are many of them so uncertain what 
shall everlastingly become of their souls? What 
manner of persons should they be in holiness, whose 
sanctification is so imperfect ; whose lives and duties 
are so important to the saving or destroying a mul- 
titude of souls ; and on whom the glory of the great 
God so much depends ? Since these things are so, I 
charge thee, Christian, in thy Master's name, to con- 
sider and resolve the question, " What manner of 
persons ought we to be in all holy conversation and 
godliness !" And let thy life answer the question as 
well as thy tongue. 



OUR TITLE TO THE SAINTS' REST. 181 

CHAPTER VIII. 



Sdf-examination urged, 1. From the possibility of arriving 
at a certainty ; 2. From the hinderances which will be thrown 
in our way by Satan, sinners, our own hearts, and many 
other causes ; 3. From considering how easy, common, and 
dangerous it is to be mistaken; that trying will not be so 
painful as the neglect ; that God will soon try us, and that 
to try ourselves will be profitable. 4. Directions how to try. 
5. Marks for trial, particularly, Do ive make God our chief 
good? Do we heartily accept of Christ for our Lord and 
Savior ? 

Is there such a glorious rest so near at hand ? 
and shall none enjoy it but the people of God? 
What mean most of the world, then, to live so con- 
tentedly without assurance of their interests in this 
rest, and neglect the trying of their title to it ? When 
the Lord has so fully opened the blessedness of that 
kingdom which none but obedient believers shall 
possess ; and so fully expressed those torments 
which the rest of the world must eternally suffer; 
methinks they that believe this to be certainly true, 
should never be at any quiet in themselves, till they 
are fully assured of their being heirs of the king- 
dom. Lord, what a strange madness is this, that 
men, who know they must presently enter upon un- 
changeable joy or pain, should yet live, as uncertain 

jg Saints' Rest. 



182 OUR TITLE TO 

what shall be their doom as if they had never heard 
of any such state ; yea, and live as quietly and mer- 
rily in this uncertainty, as if all were made sure, 
and there were no danger ! Are these men alive or 
dead ? Are they awake or asleep ? What do they 
think on ? Where are their hearts 1 If they have 
but a weighty suit at law, how careful are they to 
know whether it will go for or against them ! If 
they were to be tried for their lives at an earthly 
bar, how careful would they be to know whether 
they should be saved or condemned, especially if 
their care might surely save them ! If they be dan- 
gerously sick, they will inquire of the physician, 
What think you, sir; shall I escape, or not? But in 
the business of their salvation they are content to be 
uncertain. If you ask most men " a reason of the 
hope that is in them," they will say, "Because God 
is merciful, and Christ died for sinners," and the 
like general reasons, which any man in the world 
may give as well as they ; but put them to prove 
their interest in Christ, and in the saving mercy of 
God, and they can say nothing to the purpose. If 
God or man should say to them r What case is thy 
soul in, man ? is it regenerate, sanctified, and par- 
doned, or not ? He would say, as Cain of Abel, " I 
know not; am I my soul's keeper? I hope well; 
I trust God with my soul ; 1 shall speed as well as 
other men do ; I thank God, I never made any doubt 
of my salvation." Thou hast cause to doubt, because 



the saints' rest. 183 

thou never didst doubt ; and yet more, because thou 
hast been so careless in thy confidence. What do 
ihy expressions discover, but a willful neglect of thy 
own salvation ? as a ship-master that should let his 
vessel alone, and say, " I will venture it among the 
rocks, and waves, and winds ; I will trust God with 
it ; it will speed as well as other vessels." What hor- 
rible abuse of God is this, to pretend to trust God, to 
cloak their own willful negligence ! If thou didst 
really trust God, thou wouldst also be ruled by him, 
and trust him in his own appointed way. He re- 
quires thee to give " diligence to make thy calling 
and election sure," and so trust him. He hath mark- 
ed thee out a way in Scripture, by which thou art 
charged to search and try thyself, and mayst arrive 
at certainty. Were he not a foolish traveler, that 
would hold on his way when he does not know whe- 
ther he be right or wrong ; and say, " I hope I am 
right ; I will go on, and trust in God ?" Art thou not 
guilty of this folly in thy travels to eternity? not 
considering that a little serious inquiry whether thy 
way be right, might save thee a great deal of labor, 
which thou bestowest in vain, and must undo again, 
or else thou wilt miss of salvation and undo thyself. 
How canst thou think or speak of the great God 
without terror, as long as thou art uncertain whe- 
ther he be thy father or thy enemy, and knowest 
not but all his perfections may be employed against 
thee ? or of Jesus Christ, when thou knowest not 



1 84 OUR TITLE TO 

whether his blood hath purged thy soul ; whether 
he will condemn or acquit thee in judgment; or 
whether he be the foundation of thy happiness, or a 
stone of stumbling to break thee, and grind thee to 
powder ? How canst thou open the Bible and read 
a chapter, but it should terrify thee? Methinks, 
every leaf should be to thee as Belshazzar's writing 
on the wall, except only that which draws thee to 
try and reform. If thou readest the promises, thou 
knowest not whether they shall be fulfilled to thee. 
If thou readest the threatenings, for any thing thou 
knowest, thou readest thy own sentence. No won- 
der you are an enemy to plain preaching, and say of 
the minister, as Ahab of the prophet, " I hate him, 
for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but 
evil." How canst thou without terror join in pray- 
er? When thou receivest the Lord's supper, thou 
knowest not whether it be thy bane or bliss. What 
comfort canst thou find in thy friends, and honors, 
and houses, and lands, till thou knowest thou hast 
the love of God with them, and shalt have rest with 
him when thou leavest them? Offer a prisoner, be- 
fore he knows his sentence, either music, or clothes, 
or preferment ; what are they to him, till he knows 
he shall escape with his life % for, if he knows he 
must die the next day, it will be small comfort to die 
rich or honorable. Methinks it should be so with 
thee, till thou knowest thy eternal state. When 
thou liest down to take thy rest, methinks the un* 



the saints' rest. 183 

certainty of thy salvation should keep thee waking, 
or amaze thee in thy dreams and trouble thy sleep. 
Doth it not grieve thee to see the people of God so 
comfortable in their way to glory, when thou hast 
no good hope of ever enjoying it thyself? How 
canst thou think of thy dying hour ? Thou knowest 
it is near, and there is no avoiding it, nor any reme- 
dies found out that can prevent it. If thou shouldst 
die this day, (and " who knows what a day may 
bring forth?") thou art not certain whether thou 
shalt go to heaven or hell. And canst thou be mer- 
ry till thou art gone out of this dangerous state ? 
"What shift dost thou make to preserve thy heart 
from horror, when thou rememberest the great 
judgment day, and everlasting flames ? When thou 
hearest of it, dost thou not tremble as Felix ? If the 
" keepers shook, and became as dead men, when 
they saw the angel come and roll back the stone 
from Christ's sepulchre," how canst thou think of 
living in hell with devils, till thou hast some well- 
grounded assurance that thou shalt escape it ? Thy 
bed is very soft, or thy heart is very hard, if thou 
canst sleep soundly in this uncertain case. 

If this general uncertainty of the world about 
their salvation were remediless, then must it be 
borne as other unavoidable miseries. But, alas! 
the common cause is willful negligence, Men will 
not be persuaded to use the remedy. The great 
means to conquer this uncertainty is self-examina- 

s. r. 16* 



186 OUR TITLE TO 

tion, or the serious and diligent trying of a man's 
heart and state by the rule of Scripture. Either 
men understand not the nature and use of this duty, 
or else they will not be at the pains to try. Go 
through a congregation of a thousand men, and 
how few of them shall you meet with that ever be- 
stowed one hour in all their lives in a close exami- 
nation of their title to heaven ! Ask your own con- 
science, reader, when was the time, and where was 
the place, that ever you solemnly took your heart to 
task, as in the sight of God, and examined it by 
Scripture, whether it be renewed or not ; whether 
it be holy or not ; whether it be set most on God or 
the creatures, on heaven or earth ? And when did 
you follow on this examination till you had disco- 
vered your condition, and pass sentence on yourself 
accordingly ? But because this is a work of so high 
importance, and so commonly neglected, I will 
therefore show that it is possible, by trying, to come 
to a certainty ; what hinders men from trying and 
knowing their state ? then offer motives to examine 
and directions; together with some marks out of 
Scripture, by which you may try, and certainly 
know, whether you are the people of God or not. 

1. Scripture shows that the certainty of salvation 
may be attained, and ought to be labored for, when 
it tells us so frequently that the saints before us 
have known their justification and future salvation : 
when it declares, that M whosoever believeth in Christ 



THE SAINTS' REST, 187 

shall not perish, but have everlasting life ;" which 
it would be in vain to declare, if we cannot know 
ourselves to be believers or not; when it makes 
such a wide difference between the children of God 
and the children of the devil ; when it bids us " give 
diligence to make our calling and election sure ;" 
and earnestly urges us to " examine, prove, know 
our own selves, whether we be in the faith, and whe- 
ther Jesus Christ be in us, except we be reprobates ;" 
also, when its precepts require us to rejoice always, 
to call God our Father, to live in his praises, to love 
Christ's appearing, to wish that he may come quick- 
ly, and to comfort ourselves with the mention of it. 
But who can do any of these heartily, that is not, in 
some measure, sure that he is the child of God ? 

2. Among the many hinder ances which keep men 
from self-examination, we cannot doubt but Satan 
will do his part. If all the power he hath, or all 
the means and instruments he can employ, can do it, 
he will be sure, above all duties, to keep you from 
this. He is loth the godly should have the joy, as- 
surance, and advantage against corruption, which 
the faithful performance of self-examination would 
procure them. As for the ungodly, he knows, if 
they should once earnestly examine, they would find 
out his deceits and their own danger, and so be very 
likely to escape him. Haw could he get so many 
millions to hell willingly, if they knew they were 
going thither ? And how could they avoid knowing 



188 OUR TITLE TO 

it, if they did but thoroughly try ; having such a 
clear light and sure rule in the Scripture to discover 
it ? If the snare be not hid, the bird will escape it. 
Satan knows how to angle for souls better than to 
show them the hook and line, or fright them away 
with a noise, or with his own appearance. There- 
fore he labors to keep them from a searching minis- 
try ; or to keep the minister from helping them to 
search, or to take off the edge of the word, that it 
may not pierce and divide ; or to turn away their 
thoughts ; or to possess them with prejudice. Satan 
knows when the minister has provided a searching 
sermon, fitted to the state and necessity of a hearer ; 
and therefore he will keep him away that day, if it 
be possible ; or cast him into a sleep ; or steal away 
the word by the cares and talk of the world ; or somt 
way prevent its operation. 

Another great hinderance to self-examination 
arises from wicked men. Their examples; their 
merry company and discourse ; their continually in- 
sisting on worldly concerns ; their raillery and scoffr 
at godly persons: also their persuasions, allure- 
ments, and threats, are each of them exceedingly 
great temptations to security. God doth scarcely 
ever open the eyes of a poor sinner to see that his 
way is wrong, but presently there is a multitude of 
Satan's apostles ready to deceive and settle him 
again in the quiet possession of his former master. 
M What !" say th3y, " do you make a doubt of youT 



THE saints' rest. 189 

saivation, who have lived so well, and done nobody 
any harm ? God is merciful ; and if such as you 
shall not be saved, God help a great many ! What 
do you think of all your forefathers % And what will 
become of all your friends and neighbors that live 
as you do ? Will they all be damned % Come, come, 
if you hearken to these preachers, they will drive 
you out of your wits. Are not all men sinners 2 
and did not Christ die to save sinners ? Never trou • 
ble your head with these thoughts, and you shall do 
well." 0, bow many thousands have such charms 
kept asleep in deceit and security, till death and hell 
have awakened them ! The Lord calls to the sinner, 
and tells him, " The gate is strait, the way is nar- 
row, and few find it ; try and examine ; give dili- 
gence to make sure." The world cries, " Never 
doubt, never trouble yourselves with these thoughts." 
In this strait, sinner, consider, it is Christ, and not 
your forefathers, or neighbors, or friends, that must 
judge you at last : and, if Christ condemn you, these 
cannot save you ; therefore common reason may tell 
you, that it is not from the words of ignorant men, 
but from the word of God you must gain your 
hopes of salvation. When Ahab would inquire 
among the multitude of flattering prophets, it was 
his death. They can flatter men into the snare, but 
they cannot tell how to bring them out. " Let no 
man deceive you with vain words ; for, because of 
these things cometh the wrath of God upon the chi - 



190 OUR TITLE TO 

dren of disobedience : be not ye therefore partakers 
with them." 

But the greatest hinderances are in men's own 
hearts. Some are so ignorant, that they know not 
what self-examination is, nor what a minister means 
when he persuades them to try themselves ; or they 
know not that there is any necessity for it, but think 
every man is bound to believe that his sins are par- 
doned, whether it be true or false, and that it is a 
great fault to make any question of it ; or they do 
not think that assurance can be attained ; or that 
there is any great difference between one man and 
another, but that we are all Christians, and there- 
fore need not trouble ourselves any further ; or at 
least they know not wherein the difference lies. 
They have as gross an idea of regeneration as 
Nicodemus had. Some will not believe that God 
will ever make such a difference betwixt men in 
the life to come, and therefore will not search them- 
selves, whether they differ here. Some are so stu- 
pified, say what we can to them, that they lay it not 
to heart, but give us the hearing, and there is the 
end. Some are so possessed with self-love and pride, 
that they will not so much as suspect they are in 
danger; like a proud tradesman, who scorns the 
prudent advice of casting up his books ; as fond 
parents will not believe or hear any evil of then 
children. Some are so guilty that they dare not try, 
and yet they dare venture on a more dreadful trial. 



the saints' rest. 191 

sSome are so in love with sin, and so disl.ke the 
way of God, that they dare not try their ways, lest 
they be forced from the course they love to that 
which they loathe. Some are so resolved never to 
change their present state, that they neglect exami- 
nation as a useless thing. Before they will seek a 
new way, when they have lived so long, and gone 
<o far, they will put their eternal state to the venture, 
come of it what will. Many men are so busy in the 
w o rid, that the}?- cannot set themselves to the try- 
ing of their title to heaven. Others are so clog- 
ged with slothfulness of spirit, that they will not 
be at the pains of an hour's examination of their 
own hearts. But the most common and dangerous 
impediment is that false faith and hope, commonly 
called presumption, which bears up the hearts of 
the greatest part of the world, and so keeps them 
from suspecting their danger. 

And if a man should break through all these hin- 
derances, and set upon the duty of self-examination, 
yet assurance is not presently attained. Too many 
deceive themselves in their inquiries after it, through 
one or other of the following causes ; there is such 
confusion and darkness in the soul of man, espe- 
cially of an unregenerate man, that he can scarcely 
tell what he doth, or what is in him. As in a house, 
where nothing is in its proper place, it will be diffi- 
cult to find what is wanted, so it is in the heart 
where all things are in disorder. Most men accus- 



192 OUR TITLE TO 

torn themselves to be strangers at home, and too 
little observe the temper and motions of their own 
hearts. Many are resolved what to judge before 
they try ; like a bribed judge, who examines as if 
he would judge uprightly, when he is pre'/iously 
resolved which way the cause shall go. Men are 
pai tial in their own cause ; ready to think their 
great sins small, and their small sins none ; their 
gifts of nature to be the work of grace, and to say, 
" All these have I kept from my youth }'! I am rich, 
and increased in goods, and have need of nothing. 
Most men search but by the halves. If it will not 
easily and quickly be done, they are discouraged, 
and leave off. They try themselves by false marks 
and rules ; not knowing wherein the truth of Chris- 
tianity doth consist; some looking beyond, and 
some short of the Scripture standard. And fre- 
quently they miscarry in this work, by attempting 
it in their own strength. As some expect the Spirit 
should do it without them, so others attempt it them- 
selves, without seeking or expecting the help of 
the Spirit. Both these will certainly miscarry in 
their assurance. 

Some other hinderances keep even true Christians 
from comfortable certainty. As, for instance, the 
weakness of grace. Small things are hardly dis- 
cerned. Most Christians content themselves with a 
small measure of grace, and do not follow on to spi- 
ritual strength and manhood. The chief remedy 



THE SAINTS REST. 193 

for such would be to folio w on their duty, til* their 
graces be increased. Wait upon God in the use oi 
his prescribed means, and he will undoubtedly bless 
you with increase. O that Christians would bestow 
most of that time in getting more grace, which they 
bestow in anxious doubtings whether they have any 
or none; and lay out those serious affections in 
praying for more grace, which they bestow in fruit- 
less complaints ! I beseech thee, Christian, take this 
advice as from God ; and then, when thou believest 
strongly, and lovest fervently, thou canst no more 
doubt of thy faith and love, than a man that is very 
hot can doubt of his warmth, or a man that is strong 
and lusty can doubt of his being alive. Christians 
hinder their own comfort by looking more at signs, 
which tell them what they are, than at precepts, 
which tell theni what they should do ; as if their 
present case must needs be their everlasting case; 
and if they be now unpardoned, there were no re- 
medy. Were he not mad, that would lie weeping 
because he is not pardoned, when his prince stands 
by all the while, offering him a pardon, and per- 
suading him to accept of it? Justifying faith, Chris- 
tian, is not thy persuasion of God's special love to 
thee, but thy accepting Christ to make thee lovely. 
It is far better to accept Christ as offered, than spend 
so much time in doubting whether we have Christ 
or not. Another cause of distress to Christians is, 
their mistaking assurance for the joy that sometimes 

» rr Saints' Rest 



194 OUR TITLE TO 

accompanies it ; as if a child should take himself for 
a son no longer than while he sees the smiles of his 
father's face, or hears the comfortable expressions of 
his mouth ; and as if the father ceased to be a father 
whenever he ceased those smiles and speeches. The 
trouble of souls is also increased by their not know- 
ing- the ordinary way of God's conveying comfort. 
They think the}'- have nothing to do but to wait when 
God will bestow it. But they must know that the 
matter of their comfort is in the promises, and thence 
they must fetch it as often as they expect it, by daily 
and diligently meditating upon the promises ; and in 
this way they may expect the Spirit will communi- 
cate comfort to their souls. The joy of the promi- 
ses and the joy of the Holy Ghost are one : add to 
this, their expecting a greater measure of assurance 
than God usually bestows. As long as they have 
any doubting, they think they have no assurance. 
They consider not that there are many degrees of 
certainty. While they are here, they shall " know 
bu' in part." Add also their deriving their com- 
fort at first from insufficient grounds. This may 
be the case of a gracious soul, who hath better 
grounds, but doth not see them. As an infant hath 
life before he knoweth it, and many misapprehen- 
sions of himself and other things, yet it will not fol- 
low that he hath no life. So when Christians find 
a flaw in their first comforts, they are not to judge 
it a flaw in their safety. Many continue under 



THE SAINTS REST. 195 

doubting*, through the exceeding weakness of their 
natural parts. Many honest hearts have weak 
heads, and know not how to perform the work of 
self-trial. They will acknowledge the premises, 
and yet deny the apparent conclusion. If God do 
not some other way supply the defect of their rea- 
son, I see not how they should have clear and set- 
tled peace. One great and too common cause of 
distress is, the secret maintaining of some known 
sin. This abates the degree of our graces, and so 
makes them more undiscernible. It obscureth that 
which it destroyeth not ; for it beareth such sway, 
that grace is not in action, nor seems to stir, nor is 
scarce heard speak for the noise of this corruption. 
It puts out or dimmeth the eye of the soul, and stu- 
pifies it, that it can neither see nor feel its own con- 
dition. But especially it provokes God to withdraw 
himself, his comforts, and the assistance of his Spi- 
rit, without which we may search long enough be- 
fore we have assurance. God hath made a separa- 
tion between sin and peace. As long as thou dost 
cherish thy pride, thy love of the world, the desires 
of the flesh, or any unchristian practice, thou ex- 
pectest comfort in vain. If a man " setteth up his 
idols in his heart, and putteth the stumbling-block 
of his iniquity before his face, and cometh" to a mi- 
nister, or to God, "to inquire" for comfort, instead 
of comforting him, God "will answer him that 
cometh, according to the multitude of his idols." 



196 OUR TITLE TO 

Another very great and common cause of the wan* 
of comfort is, when grace is not kept in constant and 
lively exeicise. The way of painful duty is the 
way of fullest comfort. Peace and comfort are 
Christ's great encouragements to faithfulness and 
obedience ; and therefore, though our obedience 
does not merit them, yet they usually rise and fall 
with our diligence in duty. As prayer must have 
faith and fervency to procure it success, besides the 
blood and intercession of Christ, so must all other 
parts of our obedience. If thou grow seldom, and 
customary, and cold in duty, especially in thy secret 
praversto God, and yet findest no abatement in thy 
joys, I cannot but fear thy joys are either carnal or 
diabolical. Besides, grace is never apparent and 
sensible to the soul but while it is in action ; there- 
fore want of action must cause want of assurance. 
And the action of the soul upon such excellent ob- 
jects naturally bringeth consolation with it. The 
very act of loving God in Christ is inexpressibly 
sweet. The soul that is best furnished with grace, 
when it is not in action, is like a lute well stringed 
and tuned, which, while it lieth still, maketh no 
more music than a common piece of wood; but 
when it is handled by a skillful musician the melo- 
dy is delightful. Some degree of comfort follows 
every good action, as heat accompanies fire, and as 
beams and influence issue from the sun. A man 
what is cold should labor till heat be excited ; so he 



THE saints' rest. 197 

that wants assurance must not stand still, but exer- 
cise his graces till his doubts vanish. The want of 
consolation in the soul is also very commonly ow- 
ing to bodily melancholy. It is no more wonder for 
a conscientious man, under melancholy, to doubt, 
and fear, and despair, than for a sick man to groan, 
or a child to cry when it is- chastised. Without the 
physician in this case, the labors of the divine are 
usually in vain. You may silence, but you cannot 
comfort them. You may make them confess they 
have some grace, and yet cannot bring them to the 
comfortable conclusion. All the good thoughts of 
their state, which you can possibly help them to, 
are seldom above a day or two old. They cry out 
of sin and the wrath of God, when the chief cause 
is in their bodily distemper. 

3. As motives to the duty of self-examination, I 
entreat you to consider the following: — To be de- 
ceived about your title to heaven is very easy. 
Many are now in hell, that never suspected any 
falsehood in their hearts, that excelled in worldly 
wisdom, that lived in the clear light of the Gospel, 
and even preached against the negligence of others. 
To be mistaken in this great point is also very com- 
mon. It is the case of most in the world. In the 
old world, and in Sodom, we find none that were in 
any fear of judgment. Almost all men among us 
verily look to be saved; yet Christ tells us, "there 
be few that find the strait gate and narrow way 

S. R. 17* 



198 OUR TITLE TO 

which leadeth unto life." And if such multitudes 
are deceived, should we not search the more dili- 
gently, lest we should be deceived as well as they 1 
Nothing is more dangerous than to be thus mista- 
ken. If the godly judge their state worse than it is, 
the consequences of this mistake will be sorrowful ; 
but the mischief flowing from the mistake of the un- 
godly is unspeakable. It will exceedingly confirm 
them in the service of Satan. It will render inef- 
fectual the means that should do them good. It will 
keep a man from compassionating his own soul. It 
is a case of the greatest moment, where everlasting 
salvation or damnation is to be determined. And if 
you mistake till death, you are undone for ever. 
Seeing, then, the danger is so great, what wise man 
would not follow the search of his heart both day 
and night, till he were assured of his safety ? Con- 
sider how small the labor of this duty is in compari- 
son of that sorrow which followeth its neglect. You 
can endure to toil and SAveat from year to year, to 
prevent poverty ; and why not spend a little time in 
self-examination, to prevent eternal misery ? By ne- 
glecting this duty you can scarce do Satan a greater 
pleasure, nor yourselves a greater injury. It is the 
grand design of the devil, in all his temptations, to 
deceive you, and keep you ignorant of your danger 
till you feel the everlasting flames ; and will you join 
with him to deceive yourself? If. you do this for him, 
you do the greatest part of his work. And hath ha 



THE SAINTS* REST. 199 

deserved so well of you, that you should assist him 
in such a design as your damnation ? The time is 
nigh } when God will search you. If it be but in 
this life by affliction, it will make you wish that you 
had tried and judged yourselves, that you might 
have escaped the judgment of God. It was a terri- 
ble voice to Adam, " Where art thou ? Hast thou 
eaten of the tree?" And to Cain, "Where is thy 
brother? 55 Men "consider not in their hearts that 
l, 55 saith the Lord, " remember all their wickedness; 
now their own doings have beset them aboui ; they 
are before my face. 55 Consider also what would be 
the sweet effects of this self-examination. If thou 
be upright and godly, it will lead thee straight to- 
ward assurance of God's love ; if thou be not, though 
it will trouble thee at the present, yet it will tend to 
thy happiness, and at length lead thee to the assu- 
rance of that happiness. Is it not a desirable thing 
10 know what shall befall us hereafter; especially 
what sharll befall our souls ; and what place and 
state we must be in for ever? And as the very 
knowledge itself is desirable, how much greater 
will the comfort be of that certainty of salvation ! 
What sweet thoughts wilt thou have of God ! All 
that greatness and justice which is the terror 01 
others, will be thy joy. How sweet may be thy 
thoughts of Christ, and the blood he hath shed, and 
the benefits he hath procured ! How welcome will 
Jie word of God be to thee and " how beautiful the 



200 OUR TITLE TO 

very feet of those that bring it !" How sweet will be 
the promises when thou art sure they are thine own ! 
The very threatenings will occasion thy comfort, to 
remember that thou hast escaped them. What bold- 
ness and comfort mayst thou then have in prayer, 
when thou canst say, " Our Father," in full assu- 
rance ! It will make the Lord's supper a refreshing 
feast to thy soul. It will multiply the sweetness of 
every common mercy. How comfortably mayst 
thou then undergo all afflictions ! How will it 
sweeten thy forethoughts of death and judgment, of 
heaven and hell ! How lively will it make thee in 
the work of the Lord, and how profitable to all 
around thee ! What vigor will it infuse into all thy 
graces and affections, kindle thy repentance, inflame 
thy love, quicken thy desires, and confirm thy faith; 
be a fountain of continual rejoicing, overflow thy 
heart with thankfulness, raise thee high in the de- 
lightful work of praise, help thee to be heavenly- 
minded, and render thee persevering in all ! All 
these sweet effects of assurance would make thy life 
a heaven upon earth. 

.Though I am certain these motives have weight 
of reason in them, yet I am jealous, reader, lest you 
lay aside the book as if you had done, and never set 
yourself to the practice of the duty. The case in 
hand is of the greatest moment, whether thou shah 
everlastingly live in heaven or hell. 1 here request 
thee, in behalf of thy soul ; nay, I charge thee, iv 



THE SAINTS' REST. 201 

the name of the Lord, that thou defer no longer, but 
take thy heart to task in good earnest, and think with 
thyself, " Is it so easy, so common, and so dange- 
rous to be mistaken ? Are there so many wrong 
ways ? Is the heart so deceitful ? Why then do I 
not search into every corner, till I know my state ? 
Must I shortly undergo the trial at the bar of Christ; 
and do I not presently try myself? What a case 
were I in, if I should then miscarry ? May I know 
by a little diligent inquiry now ; and do I stick at 
the labor ?" But perhaps thou wilt say, " I know 
not how to do it." In that I am now to give thee 
directions ; but, alas ! it will be in vain if thou art 
not resolved to practice them. Wilt thou, therefore, 
before thou goest any further, here promise, before 
the Lord, to set thyself upon the speedy performance 
of the duty, according- to the directions I shall lay 
down from the word of God ? I demand nothing un- 
reasonable or impossible : it is but to bestow a few 
hours to know what shall become of thee for ever. 
If a neighbor, or a friend, desire but an hour's time 
of thee, in conversation, or business, or any thing in 
which thou mayst be of service, surely thou wouldst 
not deny it ; how much less shouldst thou deny this 
to thyself in so great an affair ! I pray thee to take 
from me this request, as if, in the name of Christ, I 
presented it to thee on nty knees ; and I will betake 
me on my knees to Christ again, to beg that he will 
persuade thy heart to the duty. 



202 OUR TITLE TO 

4. The directions how to examine thyself are such 
as these : Empty thy mind* of all other cares and 
thoughts, that they may not distract or divide thy 
mind. This work will be enough at once, without 
joining others with it. Then fall down before God 
in hearty prayer, desiring the assistance of his Spirit, 
to discover to thee the plain truth of thy condition, 
and to enlighten thee in the whole progress of this 
work. Make choice of the most convenient time and 
place. Let the place be the most private, and the 
time when you have nothing to interrupt you ; and, 
if possible, let it be the present time. Have in rea- 
diness, either in memory or writing, some Scrip- 
tures, containing the descriptions of the saints and 
the Gospel terms of salvation ; and convince thyself 
thoroughly of their infallible truth. Proceed then 
to put the question to thyself. Let it not be, whether 
there be any good in thee at all ; nor whether thou 
hast such or such a degree and measure of grace ; 
but whether such or such a saving grace be in thea 
in sincerity or not. If thy heart draw back from the 
work, force it on. Lay thy command upon it. Let 
reason interpose, and use its authority. Yea, lay the 
command of God upon it, and charge it to obey upon 
the pain of his displeasure. Let conscience also do 
its office, till thy heart be excited to the work. Nor 
let thy heart trifle away the time, when it should be 
diligently at the work. Do as the psalmist ; " My 
spirit made diligent search." He that can prevail 



THE saints' rest. 203 

with his own heart, shall also prevail with God. If, 
after all thy pains, thou art not resolved, then seek 
out for help. Go to one that is godly, experienced, 
able, and faithful, and tell him thy case, and desire 
his best advice. Use the judgment of such a one as 
that of a physician for thy body : though this can 
afford thee no full certainty, yet it may be a great 
help to stay and direct thee. But do not make it a 
pretence to put off thy own self-examination. Only 
use it as one of the last remedies, when thy own en- 
deavors will not serve. When thou hast discovered 
thy true state, pass sentence on thyself accordingly ; 
either that thou art a true Christian, or that thou art 
not. Pass not this sentence rashly, nor with self- 
flattery, nor with melancholy terrors; but delibe- 
rately, truly, and according to thy conscience, con- 
vinced by Scripture and reason. Labor to get thy 
heart affected with its condition, according to the 
sentence passed on it. If graceless, think of thy mi- 
sery; if renewed and sanctified, think what a blessed 
state the Lord hath brought thee into. Pursue these 
thoughts till they have left their impression on thy 
heart. Write this sentence at least in thy memory : 
" At such a time, upon thorough examination, I found 
my state to be thus, or thus." Such a record will 
be very useful to thee hereafter. Trust not to this 
one discovery, so as to try no more ; nor let it hin- 
der thee in the daily search of thy ways ; neither 
be discouraged if the trial must be often repeated. 



204 OUR TITLE TO 

Especially take heed, if un regenerate, not to con- 
clude of thy future state by the present. Do not say* 
44 Because I am ungodly, I shall die so ; because I 
am a hypocrite, I shall continue so." Do not de- 
spair. Nothing but thy unwillingness can keep 
thee from Christ, though thou hast hitherto abused 
him and dissembled with him. 

5. Now let me add some marks by which you 
may try your title to the saints' rest. I will only 
mention these two : taking God for thy chief good, 
and heartily accepting Christ for thy only Savior 
and Lord. 

Every soul that hath a title to this rest doth place 
his chief happiness in God. This rest consisteth in 
the full and glorious enjoyment of God. He that 
maketh not God his chief good and ultimate end, is 
in heart a pagan and a vile idolater. Let me ask, 
then, dost thou truly account it thy chief happiness 
to enjoy the Lord in glory, or dost thou not ? Canst 
thou say, " The Lord is my portion % Whom have 
I in heaven but thee ? and there is none upon earth 
that I desire besides thee !" If thou be an heir of 
rest, it is thus with thee. Though the flesh will be 
pleading for its own delights, and the world will be 
creeping into thine affections, yet in thy ordinary, 
settled, prevailing judgment and affections, thou pre- 
ferrest God before all things in the world. Thou 
makest him the very end of thy desires and endea 
vors. The very reason why thou hearest and pray- 



THE saints' rest. 205 

est, and desirest to live on earth, is chiefly this, that 
thou mayst seek the Lord, and make sure of thy rest. 
Though thou dost not seek it so zealously as thou 
shouldst, yet it hath the chief of thy desires and en- 
deavors, so that nothing else is desired or preferred 
before it. Thou wilt think no labor or suffering too 
great to obtain it. And though the flesh may some- 
times shrink, yet thou art resolve! and contented to 
go through all. Thy esteem for it will also be so 
high, and thy affection to it so great, that thou wouldst 
not exchange thy title to it, and hopes of it, for any 
worldly good whatsoever. If God should set before 
ihee an eternity of earthly pleasure on one hand, and 
the saints' rest on the other, and bid thee take thy 
choice, thou wouldst refuse the world and choose 
this rest. But if thou art yet unsanctified, then thou 
dost in thy heart prefer thy worldly happiness before 
God ; and though thy tongue may say that God is 
thy chief good, yet thy heart doth not so esteem him. 
For the world is the chief end of thy desires and en- 
deavors. Thy very heart is set upon it. Thy great- 
est care and labor is to maintain thy credit or fleshly 
delights. But the life to come hath little of thy care 
or labor. Thou didst never perceive so much excel- 
lency in that unseen glory of another world, as to 
draw thy heart after it, and set thee a laboring hear- 
tily for it. The little pains thou bestowest that way 
is but in the second place. God hath but the world's 
leavings ; only that time and labor which thou canst 

I © Saints' Rest. 



206 OUR TITLE TO 

spare from the world, or those few, cold and care- 
less thoughts which follow thy constant, earnest, 
and delightful thoughts of earthly things. Neither 
wouldst thou do any thing at all for heaven, if thou 
knewest how to keep the world. But lest thou 
shouldst he turned into hell when thou canst keep 
the world no longer, therefore thou wilt do some- 
thing. For the same reason thou thinkest the way 
of God too strict, and wilt not be persuaded to the 
constant labor of walking according to the Gospel 
rule ; and when it comes to the trial, that thou must 
forsake Christ or thy worldly happiness, then thou 
wilt venture heaven rather than earth, and so wil- 
fully deny thy obedience to God. And certainly, if 
God would but give thee leave to live in health and 
wealth for ever on earth, thou wouldst think it abet- 
ter state than rest. Let them seek for heaven that 
would, thou wouldst think this thy chief happiness. 
This is thy case, if thou art yet an unregenerate per- 
son, and hast no title to the saints' rest. 

And as thou takest God for thy chief good, so 
thou dost heartily accept of Christ for thy only Sa- 
vior and Lord, to bring thee to this rest. The for- 
mer mark was the sum of the first and great com- 
mand of the law, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
God with all thy heart." The second mark is the 
sum of the command of the Gospel, " Believe in the 
Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." And 
the performance of these two is the whole of godli- 



THE saints' rest. 207 

ness and Christianity. This mark is but the defini- 
tion of faith. Dost thou heartily consent that Christ 
alone shall be thy Savior, and no further trust to 
thy duties and works than as means appointed in 
subordination to him ; not looking at them as in the 
least measure able to satisfy the curse of the law, or 
as a legal righteousness, or any part of it ; but con- 
sent to trust thy salvation on the redemption made 
by Christ % Art thou also content to take him for 
thy only Lord and King, to govern and guide thee 
by his laws and Spirit, and to obey him, even when 
he commandeth the hardest duties, and those which 
most cross the desires of the flesh ? Is it thy sorrow 
when thou breakest thy resolution herein ; and thy 
joy when thou keepest closest in obedience to him ? 
Wouldst thou not change thy Lord and Master for 
all the world ? Thus is it with every true Christian. 
But if thou be a hypocrite, it is far otherwise. Thou 
mayst call Christ thy Lord and thy Savior, but thou 
never foundest thyself so lost without him as to drive 
thee to seek him, and trust him, and lay thy salva- 
tion on him alone ; at least, thou didst never hearti- 
ly consent that he should govern thee as thy Lord, 
nor resign up thy soul and life to be ruled by him, 
nor take his word for the law of thy thoughts and ac- 
tions. It is likely thou art content to be saved from 
hell by Christ when thou diest ; but, in the meantime, 
he shall command thee no further than will stand 
with thy credit, or pleasure or other worldly ends, 



208 OUR TITLE TO 

And if he would give thee leave, thou hadst far ra« 
ther live after the world and flesh, than after the 
Word and Spirit. And though thou mayst now 
and then have a motion or purpose to the contrary, 
yet this that I have mentioned is the ordinary de- 
sire and choice of thy heart. Thou art therefore no 
true believer in Christ; for though thou confess 
him in words, yet in works thou dost deny him, 
" being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every 
good work reprobate." This is the case of those 
that shall be shut out of the saints' rest. 

Observe, it is the consent of your hearts, or wills, 
which I especially lay down to be inquired after. I 
do not ask whether thou be assured of salvation, nor 
whether thou canst believe that thy sins are pardon- 
ed, and that thou art beloved of God in Christ. 
These are no parts of justifying faith, but excellent 
fruits of it, and they that receive them are comforted 
by them; but perhaps thou mayst never receive 
them while thou livest, and yet be a true heir of 
rest. Do not say then, " I cannot believe that my 
sins are pardoned, or that I am in God's favor ; and 
therefore I am no true believer." This is a most 
mistaken conclusion. The question is, whethei 
thou dost heartily accept of Christ, that thou mayst 
be pardoned, reconciled to God, and so saved. Dost 
thou consent that he shall be thy Lord, who hath 
bought thee, and that he shall bring thee to heaven 
in his own way ? This is justifying, saving faith 



THE SAINTS* REST. 209 

and the mark by which thou must try thyself. Yet 
still observe that all this consent must be hearty and 
real, not feigned or with reservations. It is not say- 
ing as that dissembling son, " I go, sir ; and went 
not." If any have more of the government of thee 
than Christ, thou art not his disciple. I am sure 
these two marks are such as every Christian hath, 
and none but sincere Christians. O that the Lord 
would noAv persuade thee to the close performance 
of this self-trial ! that thou mayst not tremble with 
horror of soul when the Judge of the world shall 
try thee ; but be so able to prove thy title to rest, 
that the prospect and approach of death and judg- 
ment may raise thy spirits and fill thee with joy. 

On the whole, if Christians would have comforts 
that will not deceive them, let them make it the 
great labor of their lives to grow in grace, to strength- 
en and advance the interest of Christ in their souls, 
and to weaken and subdue the interest of the flesh. 
Deceive not yourselves with a persuasion that Christ 
hath done all, and left you nothing to do. To over- 
come the world, the flesh, and the devil, and, in or- 
der to that, to stand always armed upon our watch, 
and valiantly and patiently to fight it out, is of great 
importance to our assurance and salvation. Indeed, 
it is so important, that he who performeth it not is 
no more than a nominal Christian. Not to every 
one that presumptuously believeth, but " to him that 
overcometh, will Christ give to eat of the hidden 

S R. 18* 



210 OUR TITLE TO THE SAINTS* REST. 

manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the 
stone a new name written, which no man knoweth, 
saving he that receiveth it ; he shall eat of the tree 
of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God, 
and shall not be hurt of the second death. Christ 
will confess his name before his Father, and before 
his angels, and make him a pillar in the temple of 
God, and he shall go no more out ; and will write 
upon him the name of his God, and the name of the 
city of his God, which is New Jerusalem, which 
cometh down out of heaven from his God, and will 
write upon him his new name." Yea, " He will 
grant to him to sit with him on his throne, even as 
he also overcame, and is set down with his Father on 
his throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what 
the Spirit saith unto the churches." 



EXCITEMENT TO SEEK, &e 21 * 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE DUTY OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD TO EXCITE OTHERS TO 

SEEK THIS REST. 

The author laments that Christians do so little to help others to 
obtain the saints 1 rest : I. Shows the nature of this duty ; 
particularly, 1. In having our hearts affected with the mi- 
sery of our brethren's souls ; 2. In taking all opportunities 
to instruct them in the way of salvation ; 3. In promoting 
their profit by public ordinances : II. Assigns various rea- 
sons why this duty is so much neglected, and answers some 
objections against it : Then, III. urges to the discharge oj 
it, by several considerations ; 1. Addressed to such as have 
knowledge, learning, and utterance ; 2. Those that are ac- 
quainted with sinners; 3. Physicians that attend dying 
men ; 4. Persons of wealth and power ; 5. Ministers ; 6. 
And those that are intrusted with the care of children or ser- 
vants. The chapter concludes with an earnest request to 
Christian parents to be faithful to their trust. 

Hath God set before us such a glorious prize as 
the saints' rest, and made us capable of such incon- 
ceivable happiness ? Why, then, do not all the chil- 
dren of this kingdom exert themselves more to help 
others to the enjoyment of it ? Alas ! how little are 
poor souls about us beholden to most of us ! We see 
the glory of the kingdom, and they do not ; we see 
the misery of those that are out of it, and they do not; 
we see some wandering quite out of the way, and 
know, if they hold on, they can never come there ; 
and they themselves discern it not. And yet we will 



212 EXCITEMENT TO SEEK 

not seriously show them their danger and error, and 
help to bring them into the way, that they may live. 
Alas ! how few Christians are there to be found who 
set themselves with all their might to save souls ! 
No thanks to us, if heaven be not empty, and if the 
souls of our brethren perish not for ever. Consider- 
ing how important this duty is to the glory of God 
and the happiness of men, I will show — how it is to 
be performed ; — why it is so much neglected ; — and 
then offer some considerations to persuade to it. 

First. The duty of exciting and helping others to 
discern their title to the saints^ rest. This does not 
mean that every man should turn a public preacher, 
or that any should go beyond the bounds of theii 
particular calling ; much less does it consist in pro- 
moting a party spirit ; and, least of all, in speaking 
against men's faults behind their backs, and being 
silent before their faces. This duty is of another 
nature, and consists of the following things : in hav 
ing our hearts affected with the misery of our breth- 
ren's souls, in taking all opportunities to instruct 
them in the way of salvation, and in promoting their 
profit by public ordinances. 

1. Our hearts must be affected with the misery of 
our brethren's souls. We must be compassionate to- 
ward thern, and yearn after their recovery and sal- 
vation. If we earnestly longed after their conversion, 
and our hearts were solicitous to do them good, it 
would set us at work, and God would usually 
Bless it. 



the saints' rest. 213 

2. We must take every opportunity that we pos- 
sibly can to instruct them how to attain salvation. 
If the person be ignorant, labor to make him under- 
stand the chief happiness of man ; how far he was 
once possessed of it ; the covenant God then made 
with him ; how he broke it ; what penalty he in- 
curred ; and what misery he brought himself into. 
Teach him his need of a Redeemer ; how Christ did 
mercifully interpose, and bear the penalty; what 
the new covenant is ; how men are drawn to Christ ; 
and what are the riches and privileges which be- 
lievers have in him. If he is not moved by these 
things, then show him the excellency of the glory 
he neglects ; the extremity and eternity of the tor- 
ments of the damned ; the justice of enduring them 
for willfully refusing grace ; the certainty, nearness, 
and terrors of death and judgment ; the vanity of all 
things below ; the sinfulness of sin ; the preciousness 
of Christ ; the necessity of regeneration, faith, and 
holiness, and the true nature of them. If, after all, 
you find him entertaining false hopes, then urge him 
to examine his state ; show him the necessity of do- 
ing so ; help him in it ; nor leave him till you have 
convinced him of his misery and remedy. Show 
him how vain and destructive it is to join Christ and 
his duties, to compose his justifying righteousness. 
Yet be sure to draw him to the use of all means ; 
such as hearing and reading the word, calling upon 
God, and associating with the godly : persuade him 



214 EXCITEMENT TO SEEK 

to forsake sin, avoid all temptations to sin, especially 
evil companions, and to wait patiently on God in 
the use of means, as the way in which God will be 
found. 

But, because the manner of performing- this work 
is of great moment, observe therefore these rules : 
Enter upon it with right intentions. Aim at the 
glory of God in the person's salvation. Do it not 
to get a name or esteem to thyself, or to bring men 
to depend upon thee, or to get thee followers ; but 
in obedience to Christ, in imitation of him, and ten* 
der love to men's souls. Do not as those who labor 
to reform their children or servants from such things 
as are against their own profit or humor, but never 
seek to save their souls in the way which God hath 
appointed. Do it speedily. As you would not have 
them delay their return, do net you delay to seek 
their return. While you are purposing to teach and 
help him, the man goes deeper in debt ; wrath is 
heaping up ; sin taking root ; custom fastens him ; 
temptations to sin multiply ; conscience grows sear- 
ed; the heart hardened; the devil rules; Christ is 
shutout; the Spirit is resisted ; God is daily dis- 
honored ; his law violated ; he is without a servant, 
and that service from him which He should have ; 
time runs on ; death and judgment are at the door ; 
and what if the man die, and drop into hell, while 
you are purposing to prevent it ! If, in the case of 
his bodily distress, vou " must not say to him, Go 



THE saints' rest. 215 

and come again, and to-morrow I will give, when 
thou hast it by thee ;" how much less may you de- 
lay the succor of his soul ! That physician is no 
better than a murderer, who negligently delays till 
his patient be dead or past cure. Lay by excuses, 
then, and all lesser business, and " exhort one an- 
other daily, while it is called to-day, lest any be 
hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." Let 
your exhortation proceed from compassion and love. 
To jeer and scoff, to rail and vilify, is not a likely 
way to reform men, or convert them to God. Go to 
poor sinners with tears in your eyes, that they may 
see you believe them to be miserable, and that you 
unfeignedly pity their case. Deal with them with 
earnest, humble entreaties. Let them perceive it is 
die desire of your heart to do them good ; that you 
have no other end but their everlasting happiness • 
and that it is your sense of their danger, and your 
love to their souls, that forceth you to speak ; even 
because you u know the terrors of the Lord," and 
for fear you should see them in eternal torments. 
Say to them, " Friend, you know I seek no advan- 
tage of my own : the method to please you, and 
keep your friendship, were to sooth you in your 
way, or let you alone ; but love will not suffer me 
to see you perish, and be silent. I seek nothing at 
your hands but that which is necessary to your own 
happiness. It is yourself that will have the gain 
and comfort if you come to Christ." 



216 EXCITEMENT TO SEEK 

If we were thus to go to every lg aorant and 
wicked neighbor, what blessed fruit should we 
quickly see ! — Do it with all possible plainness and 
faithfulness. Do not make their sins less than they 
are, nor encourage them in a false hope. If you 
see the case dangerous, speak plainly : " Neighbor, 
I am afraid God hath not yet renewed your soul ; I 
doubt you are not yet recovered 'from the power of 
Satan to God ;' I doubt you have not chosen Christ 
above all, nor unfeignedly taken him for your sove- 
reign Lord. If you had, surely you durst not so 
easily disobey him, nor neglect his worship in your 
family and in public; you could not so eagerly fol- 
low the world, and talk of nothing but the things oi 
the world. If you were ' in Christ,' you would be 
*a new creature; old things' would be * passed 
away, ana all things ' would l become new. ' You 
would have new thoughts, new talk, new company 
new endeavors, and a new conversation. Certainly 
without these you can never be saved ; you may 
think otherwise, and hope otherwise as long as you 
will, but your hopes will all deceive you, and perish 
with you." Thus must you deal faithfully with men, 
if ever you intend to do them good. It is not in cur- 
ing men's souls, as in curing their bodies, where 
they must not know their danger, lest it hinder the 
cure. They are here agents in their own cure; 
and if they know not their misery, they will never 
bewail it, par know their need of a Savior. Do it 



THE SAINTS 7 REST. 217 

also seriously, zealously, and effectually. Labor to 
make men know that heaven and hell are not mat- 
ters to be played with, or passed over with a few 
careless thoughts. " It is most certain that, one of 
these days, thou shalt be in everlasting joy or tor- 
ment ; and doth it not awaken thee 1 Are there so 
few that find the way of life? so many that go the 
way of death ? Is it so hard to escape 1 so easy to 
miscarry ? and yet do you sit still and trifle ? What 
do you mean ? The world is passing away : its plea- 
sures, honors, and profits are fading and leaving 
you: eternity is a little before you: God is just and 
jealous: his threatenings are true: the great day 
will be terrible : time runs on : your life is uncertain : 
you are far behindhand: your case is dangerous : if 
you die to-morrow, how unready are you ! With 
what terror will your souls go out of your bodies ! 
And do you yet loiter? Consider, God is all this 
while waiting your leisure : his patience beareth : 
his long-suffering forbeareth : his mercy entreateth 
you : Christ offereth you his blood and merits : the 
Spirit is persuading : conscience is accusing : Satan 
waits to have you. This is your time — now or 
never. Had you rather burn in hell, than repent on 
earth ? have devils your tormentors, than Christ }'our 
governor ? Will you renounce your part in God and 
glory, rather than renounce your sins ? O friends 
what do you think of these things ? God hath made 
you men ; do not renounce your reason where you 

19 Saints' Rest. 



218 EXCITEMENT TO SEEK 

should chiefly use it." Alas ! it is not a few dull 
words between jest and earnest, between sleep and 
awake, that will rouse a dead-hearted sinner. If a 
house be on fire, you will not make a cold oration 
on the nature and danger of fire, but will run and 
cry, Fire ! fire ! To tell a man of his sins as softly 
as Eli did his sons ; or to reprove him as gently as 
Jehoshaphat did Ahab, " Let not the king say so ;" 
usually doth as much harm as good. Loathness to 
displease men makes us undo them. 

Yet, lest you run into extremes, I advise you to 
do it with 'prudence and discretion. Choose the 
fittest season. Deal not with men when they are 
in a passion, or where they will take it for a dis- 
grace. When the earth is soft, the plough will en- 
ter. Take a man when he is under affliction, or 
newly impressed under a sermon. Christian faith- 
fulness requires us not only to do good when it falls 
in our way, but to watch for opportunities. Suit 
yourself also to the quality and temper of the per- 
son. You must deal with the ingenious more by 
argument than persuasion. There is need of both 
to the ignorant. The affections of the convinced 
should be chiefly excited. The obstinate must be 
sharply reproved. The timorous must be dealt with 
tenderly. Love, and plainness, and seriousness, 
take with all ; but words of terror some can scarce 
bear. Use also the aptesi expressions. Unseeming 
language makes the hearers loathe the food the^ 



the saints' rest. 219 

should live by , especially if they be men of curious 
ears and carnal hearts. Let all your reproofs and 
exhortations be backed with the authority of God. 
Let sinners be convinced that you speak not of your 
own head. Turn them to the very chapter and 
verse where their sin is condemned, and their duty 
commanded. The voice of man is. contemptible, but 
the voice of God is awful and terrible. They may 
reject your words, who dare not reject the words of 
the Almighty. Be frequent with men in this duty 
of exhortation. If we are " always to pray, and not 
to faint," because God will have us importunate with 
himself; the same course, no doubt, will be most pre- 
vailing with men. Therefore we are commanded 
"to exhort one another daily," and "with all long- 
suffering." The fire is not always brought out of 
the flint at one stroke ; nor men's affections kindled 
at the first exhortation : and if they were, yet if they 
be not followed, they will soon grow cold again. 
Follow sinners with your loving and earnest entrea- 
ties, and give them no rest in their sin. This is true 
charity, the way to save men's souls, and will afford 
you comfort upon review. Strive to bring all your 
exhortations to an issue. If we speak the most con- 
vincing words, and all our care is over with our 
speech, we shall seldom prosper in our labors * but 
God usually blesses their labors, whose very heart 
is set upon the conversion of their hearers, and who 
ure therefore inquiring after the success of their 



220 EXCITEMENT TO SEEK 

work. If you reprove a sin, cease not till the sin- 
ner promises you to leave it, and avoid the occa- 
sions of it. If you are exhorting to a duty, urge for 
a promise to set upon it presently. If you would 
draw men to Christ, leave them not till they have 
confessed the misery of their present unregene- 
rate ' state, and the necessity of Christ, and of a 
change, and have promised you to fall close to the 
use of means. O that all Christians would take 
this course with all their neighbors that are enslav- 
ed to sin, and strangers to Christ ! Once more, be 
sure your example exhort as well as your words. 
Let them see you constant in all the duties you per- 
suade them to. Let them see in your lives that supe- 
riority to the world which your lips recommend. 
Let them see, by your constant labors for heaven, 
that you indeed believe what you would have them 
believe. A holy and heavenly life is a continual 
pain to the consciences of sinners around you, and 
continually solicits them to change their course. 

3. Besides the duty of private admonition, you 
must endeavor to help men to profit by the fublic 
ordinances. In order to that, endeavor to procure 
for them faithful ministers, where they are wanting. 
" How shall they hear without a preacher ?" Im- 
prove your interest and diligence to this end, till you 
prevail. Extend your purses to the utmost. How 
many souls may be saved by the ministry you have 
procured ! It is a higher and nobler charity than 



THE SAINTS 7 REST. 221 

relieving their bodies. What abundance of good 
might great men do, if they would support, in aca- 
demical education, such youth as they have first 
carefully chosen for their talents and piety, till they 
should be fit for the ministry ! — and when a faithful 
ministry is obtained, help poor souls to receive the 
fruit of it — draw them constantly to attend it — remind 
them often what they have heard ; and, if it be pos- 
sible, let them hear it repeated in their families, or 
elsewhere — promote their frequent meeting together, 
besides publicly in the congregation ; not as a sepa- 
rate church, but as a part of the church, more dili- 
gent than the rest in redeeming time, and helping 
the souls of each other heaven-ward. Labor also to 
keep the ordinances and ministry in esteem : no 
man will be much wrought on by that which he de- 
spiseth. An apostle says, " We beseech you, breth- 
ren, to know them who labor among you, and are 
over you in the Lord, and admonish you ; and to 
esteem them very highly in love for their work's 
sake." 

Secondly. Let us inquire what may be the causes 
of the gross neglect of ihis duty ; that the hinder- 
ances, being discovered, may the more easily be over- 
come. 

One hinderance is, men's own sin and guiA. They 
have not themselves been ravished with heavenly de- 
lights ; how then should they draw others so earn- 
estly to seek them ? They have not felt their own 

s. r. 19* 



222 EXCITEMENT TO SEEK 

lost condition, nor their need of Christ, nor the re- 
newing- work of the Spirit; how then can they dis- 
cover these to others ? They are guilty of the sins 
they should reprove, and this makes them ashamed 
to reprove. Another is, a secret infidelity prevailing 
in men's hearts. Did we verily believe that all the 
un regenerate and unholy shall be eternally torment* 
ed, how could we hold our tongues, or avoid burst- 
ing into tears, when we look them in the face, es- 
pecially when they are our near and dear friends ? 
Thus doth secret unbelief consume the vigor of 
each grace and duty. O Christians, if you did veri- 
ly believe that your ungodly neighbors, wife, hus- 
band, or child, should certainly lie for ever in hell, 
except they be thoroughly changed before death 
shall snatch them away, would not this make you 
address them day and night till they were persuad- 
ed ? Were it not for this cursed unbelief, our own 
and our neighbors' souls would gain more by us 
than they do. These attempts are also much hin- 
dered by our want of charity and compassion for 
men's souls. We look on miserable souls, and pass 
by, as the priest and Levite by the wounded man. 
What though the sinner, wounded by sin, and cap- 
tivated by Satan, do not desire thy help himself ; yet 
his misery cries aloud. If God had not heard the 
cry of our miseries before he heard the cry of our 
prayers, and been moved by his own pity before he 
was moved by our importunity, we might long have 



THE SAINTS REST. 223 

continued the slaves of Satan. You will pray to 
God for them, to open their eyes and turn their 
hearts ; and why not endeavor their conversion, if 
you desire it ? And if you do not desire it, why do 
you ask it ? Why do you not pray them to consider 
and return, as well as pray to God to convert and 
turn them ? If you should see your neighbor fallen 
into a pit, and should pray to God to help him out, 
but neither put forth your hand to help him, nor 
once direct him to help himself, would not any man 
censure you for your cruelty and hypocrisy ? It is 
as true of the soul as of the body. If any man 
" seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his 
bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the 
love of God in him ?" or what love hath he to his 
brother's soul ? We are also hindered by a base, 
man-pleasing disposition. We are so desirous to 
keep in credit and favor with men, that it makes us 
most unreasonably neglect our own duty. He is a 
foolish and unfaithful physician that will let a sick 
man die for fear of troubling him. If our friends 
are distracted, we please them in nothing that tends 
to their hurt. And yet w T hen they are beside them- 
selves in point of salvation, and in their madness 
posting on to damnation, we will not stop them for 
fear of displeasing them. How can we be Chris- 
tians, that " love the praise of men more than the 
praise of God ?" For, if we " seek to please men, 
we shall not be the servants of Christ." It is com- 



224 EXCITEMENT TO SEEK 

mon to be hindered by sinful bashfulness. When 
we should shame men out of their sins, we are our- 
selves ashamed of our duties. May not these sin- 
ners condemn us, when they blush not to swear, be 
drunk, or neglect the worship of God ; and we 
blush to tell them of it, and persuade them from it ? 
Bashfulness is unseemly in cases of necessity. It 
is not a work to be ashamed of, to obey God in per- 
suading men from their sins to Christ. Reader, 
hath not thy conscience told thee of thy duty many 
a time, and urged thee to speak to poor sinners ; 
and yet thou hast been ashamed to open thy mouth, 
and so let them alone to sink or swim ? O read and 
tremble, " Whosoever shall be ashamed of me, and 
of my words, in this adulterous and sinful genera- 
tion, of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, 
when he cometh in the glory of his Father, with 
the holy angels." An idle and impatient spirit hin- 
dereth us. It is an ungrateful work, and sometimes 
makes men our enemies. Besides, it seldom sue* 
ceeds at the first, except it be followed on. You 
must be long in teaching the ignorant, and per- 
suading the obstinate. We consider not what pa* 
tience God used toward us when we were in our 
sins. Wo to us, if God had been as impatient 
with us as we are with others. Another hinder 
ance is, self-seeking. "All seek their own, not the 
things which are Jesus Christ's," and their breth- 
ren's. With many, pride is a great impediment. 



THE SAINTS* REST. 225 

if it were to speak to a great man, and it would 
not displease him, they would do it ; but to go 
among the poor, and take pains with them in thei 
cottages, where is the person that will do it? Many 
will rejoice in being instrumental to convert a gen- 
tleman, and they have good reason ; but overlook 
the multitude, as if the souls of all were not alike 
to God. Alas ! these men little consider how low 
Christ stooped to us ! Few rich, and noble, and 
wise, are called. It is the poor that receive the 
glad tidings of the Gospel. And with some, their 
ignorance of the duty hindereth them from perform- 
ing it: either they know it not to be a duty, or 
at least not to be their duty. If this be thy case, 
reader, I am in hope thou art now acquainted with 
thy duty, and wilt set upon it. 

Do not object to this duty, that you are unable to 
manage an exhortation ; but either set those at the 
work who are more able, or faithfully and humbly 
use the small ability you have, and tell them, as a 
weak man may do, what God says in his word. 
Decline not the duty, because it is your superior 
who needs advice and exhortation. Order must be 
dispensed with in cases of necessity. Though it be 
a husband, a parent, a minister, you must teach him 
in such a case. If parents are in want, children 
must relieve them. If a husband be sick, the wife 
must fill up his place in family affairs. If the rich 
are reduced to beggary, they must receive charity. 



226 EXCITEMENT TO SEEK 

If the physician be sick, somebody must look to him. 
Thus the meanest servant must admonish his master, 
and the child his parent, and the wife her husband, 
and the people their minister ; so that it be done 
when there is real need, and with all possible humi- 
lity, modesty, and meekness. Do not say, this will 
make us all preachers : for every good Christian is 
a teacher, and has a charge of his neighbor's soul. 
Every man is a physician, when a regular physi- 
cian cannot be had, and when the hurt is so small 
that any man may relieve it ; and in the same cases 
every man must be a teacher. Do not despair of 
success. Cannot God give it ? And must it not be 
by means ? Do not plead, it will only be casting 
pearls before swine. When you are in danger to be 
torn in pieces, Christ would have you forbear ; but 
what is that to you that are in no such danger % As 
long as they will hear, you will have encourage- 
ment to speak, and may not cast them off as con- 
temptible swine. Say not, " It is a friend on whom 
I much depend ; and by telling him his sin and mi- 
sery, I may lose his love, and be undone." Is his 
love more to be valued than his safety ? or thy own 
benefit by him, than the salvation of his soul ? or 
wilt thou connive at his damnation because he is thy 
friend ? Is that thy best requital of his friendship % 
Hadst thou rather he should burn in hell for ever, 
than thou shouldst lose his favor, or the maintenance 
thou hast from him ? 



THE SAINTS 1 REST. 227 

Thirdly. But that all who fear God may be ex- 
cited to do their utmost to help others to this blessed 
rest, let me entreat you to consider the following 
motives : As, for instance, not only nature, but espe- 
cially grace, disposes the soul to be communicative 
of good ; therefore, to neglect this work is a sin both 
against nature and grace. Would you not think 
him unnatural that would suffer his children or 
neighbors to starve in the streets, while he has pro- 
vision at hand 1 And is not he more unnatural, that 
will let them eternally perish, and not open his 
mouth to save them? An unmerciful, cruel man, 
is a monster to be abhorred of all. If God had bid 
you give them all your estates, or lay down-your 
lives to save them, you would surely have refused, 
when you will not bestow a little breath to save therm 
Is not the soul of a husband, or wife, or child, or 
neighbor, worth a few words ? Cruelty to men's bo- 
dies is a most damnable sin ; but to their souls much 
more, as the soul is of greater worth than the body 
and eternity than time. Little know you what many 
a soul may now be feeling in hell, who died in their 
sins, for want of your faithful admonition. Consider 
what Christ did toward the saving of souls. He 
thought them worth his blood; and shall we not 
think them worth our breath ? Will you not do a 
little where Christ hath done so much? Consider 
what fit objects of pity ungodly people are. They 
are dead in trespasses and sins, have not hearts to 



228 EXCITEMENT TO SEEK 

feel their miseries, nor to pity themselves. If others 
do not pity them, they will have no pity ; for it is the 
nature of their disease to make them pitiless to them- 
selves, yea, their own most cruel destroyers. Con- 
sider, it was once thy own case. It was God's argu- 
ment to the Israelites, to be kind to strangers, be- 
cause themselves had been " strangers in the land of 
Egypt." So should you pity them that are strangers 
to Christ, and to the hopes and comforts of the saints, 
because you were once strangers to them yourselves. 
Consider your relation to them. It is thy neighbor, 
thy brother, whom thou art bound to love as thyself. 
He that loveth not his brother, whom he seeth daily, 
doth not love God, whom he never saw. And doth 
he love his brother, that will see him go to hell, and 
never hinder him? 

Consider what a load of guilt this neglect lays 
upon thy own soul. Thou art guilty of the murder 
and damnation of all those souls whom thou dost 
thus neglect ; and of every sin they now commit, 
and of all the dishonor done to God thereby ; and of 
all these judgments which their sins bring upon the 
town or country where they live. Consider what it 
will be, to look upon your poor friends in eternal 
flames, and to think that your neglect was a great 
cause of it. If you should there perish with them, 
it would be no small aggravation of your torment. 
If you be in heaven, it would surely be a sad thought 
were it possible that any sorrow could dwell there 



THE SAINTS* REST. 229 

to hear a multitude of poor souls cry out, for ever, 
" O, if you would but have told me plainly of my sin 
and danger, and set it home, I might have escaped 
all this torment, and been now in rest !" What a sad 
voice will this be ! Consider what a joy it will be 
in heaven, to meet those there whom you have been 
the means to bring thither ; to see their faces, and 
join with them for ever in the praises of God, whom 
you were the happy instruments of bringing to the 
knowledge and obedience of Jesus Christ ! Consider 
how many souls you may have drawn into the way 
of damnation, or hardened in it. We have had, in the 
da}rs of our ignorance, our companions in sin, whom 
we enticed or encouraged. And doth it not become 
us to do as much to save men, as we have done to 
destroy them ? Consider how diligent are all the 
enemies of these poor souls to draw them to hell. 
The devil is tempting them day and night ; their in- 
ward lusts are still working for their ruin ; the flesh 
is still pleading for its delights ; their old compan- 
ions are increasing their dislike of holiness. And if 
nobody be diligent in helping them to heaven, what 
is like to become of them? 

Consider how deep the neglect of this duty will 
wound when conscience is awakened. When a man 
comes to die, conscience will ask him, " What good 
hast thou done in thy lifetime % The saving of souls 
is the greatest good work ; what hast thou done to- 
ward it? How many hast thou dealt faithfully 

2Q Saints' Rest 



236 EXCITEMENT TO SEEK 

with ?" I have often observed that the consciences 
of dying men very much wounded them for this 
omission. For my own part, when I have been near 
death, my conscience hath accused me more for this 
than for any sin; it would bring every ignorant, 
profane neighbor to my remembrance, to whom I 
never made known their danger ; it would tell me, 
" Thou sho-uldst have gone to them in private, and 
told them plainly of their desperate danger, though 
it had been when thou shouldst have eaten or slept, 
if thou hadst no other time." Conscience would re- 
mind me how, at such or such a time, I was in 
company with the ignorant, or riding by the way 
with a willful sinner, and had a fit opportunity to 
have dealt with him, but did not ; or at least did it 
to little purpose. The Lord grant I may better 
obey conscience while I have time, that it may have 
less to accuse me of at death ! Consider what a 
seasonable time you now have for this work. There 
are times in which it is not safe to speak ; it may 
cost you your liberties or your lives. Besides, your 
neighbors will shortly die, and so will you. Speak 
to them, therefore, while you may. Consider, though 
this is a work of the greatest charity,, yet every one 
of you may perform it ; the poorest as well as the 
rich : every one hath a tongue to speak to a sinner. 
Once more, consider the happy consequences of this 
work where it is faithfully done. You may be in- 
strumental in saving souls, for whom Christ came 



THE SAINTS 1 REST. 231 

iown and died, and in whom the angels of God 
rejoice. Such souls will bless you here and here- 
after ; God will have much glory by it ; the church 
will be multiplied and edified by it ; your own souls 
will enjoy more improvement and vigor in a divine 
life, more peace of conscience, more rejoicing in 
spirit. Of all the personal mercies that I ever re- 
ceived, next to the love of God in Christ to my 
own soul, I must most joyfully bless him for the 
plentiful success of my endeavors upon others. O 
what fruits, then, might I have seen, if I had been 
more faithful ! I know we need be very jealous of 
our deceitful hearts in this point, lest our rejoicing 
should come from our pride. Naturally we would 
have the praise of every good work ascribed to 
ourselves ; yet to imitate our Father in goodness 
and mercy, and to rejoice in the degree of them we 
attain to, is the duty of every child of God. I there- 
fore tell you my own experience, to persuade you, 
that if you did but know what a joyful thing it is, 
you would follow it night and day through the 
greatest discouragements. 

Up, then, every man that hath a tongue, and is a 
servant of Christ, and do something of your Mas- 
ter's work. Why hath he given you a tongue, but 
to speak in his service ? And how can you serve 
him more eminently than in laboring for the salva- 
tion of souls ? He that will pronounce you blessed 
at the last day, and invite you to "the kingdom pre 



232 EXCITEMENT TO SEEK 

pared for you," because you " fed him, and clothed 
him, and visited him," in his poor members, will 
surely pronounce you blessed for so great a work 
as bringing souls to his kingdom. He that saith, 
"the poor you have always with you," hath left the 
ungodly always with you, that you might still have 
matter to exercise your charity upon. If you have 
the hearts of Christians or of men, let them yearn 
toward your ignorant, ungodly neighbors. Say, as 
the lepers of Samaria, " We do not well ; this day is 
a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace." Hath 
God had so much mercy on you, and will you have 
no mercy on your poor neighbors ? But as this duty 
belongs to all Christians, so especially to some, ac- 
cording as God hath called them to it, or qualified 
them for it. To them, therefore, I will more parti- 
cularly address the exhortation : 

1. God especially expects this duty at your hands, 
to whom he hath given more learning and know- 
ledge, and endued with better utterance, than your 
neighbors. The strong are made to help the weak, 
and those that see must direct the blind. God look- 
eth for this faithful improvement of your parts and 
gifts, which if you neglect, it were better you had 
never received them ; for they will but aggravate 
your condemnation, and be as useless to your own 
salvation as they were to others. 

2. All those that are particularly acquainted with 
some ungodly men, and that have peculiar interest io 



THE saints' rest, 233 

them, God looks for this duty at your hands. Christ 
himself did eat and drink with publicans and sin- 
ners ; but it was only to be their physician, and not 
their companion. Who knows but God gave you 
interest m them to this end, that you might be the 
means of their recovery ? They that will not regard 
the words of a stranger, may regard a brother, or 
sister, or husband, or wife, or near friend ; besides 
that the bond of friendship engageth you to more 
kindness and compassion than ordinary, 

3. Physicians that are much about dying men, 
should, in a special manner, make conscience of this 
duty. It is their peculiar advantage,, that they are 
at hand: that they are with men in sickness and 
dangers, when the ear is more open, and the heart 
less stubborn, than in time of health ; and that men 
look upon their physician as a person in whose 
hands is their life ; or, at least, who may do much 
to save them. ; and therefore they will the more re- 
gard his advice. You that are of this honorable 
profession, do not think this a work beside your 
calling, as if it belonged to none but ministers : ex- 
cept you think it beside your calling to be compas- 
sionate, or to be Christians. O help, therefore, to 
fit your patients for heaven ! and, whether you see 
they are for life or death, teach them both how to 
live and die, and show them a remedy for their 
souls, as you do for their bodies. Blessed be God, 
that very many of the chief physicians of this age 

s. r. 20* 



234 EXCITEMENT TO SEEK 

have, by their eminent piety, vindicated their pro* 
fession from the common imputation of atheism and 
profaneness. 

4. Men of wealth and authority, and that have 
many dependants, have excellent advantages for this 
duty O what a world of good might gentlemen do 
if they had but hearts to improve their influence over 
others ! Have you not all your honor and riches 
from God ? Doth not Christ say, " Unto whomso- 
ever much is given, of him much shall be requir- 
ed?" If you speak to your dependants for God and 
their souls, you may be regarded, when even a mi- 
nister shall be despised. As you value the honor 
of God, your own comfort, and the salvation of souls, 
improve your influence over your tenants and neigh- 
bors ; visit their houses; see whether they worship 
God in their families ; and take all opportunities to 
press them to their duty. Despise them not. Re- 
member, God is no respecter of persons. Let men 
see that you excel others in piety, compassion, and 
diligence in God's work, as you do in the riches and 
honors of the world. I confess you will, by this 
means, be singular, but then you will be singular 
in glory; for few of the "mighty and noble are 
called." 

5. As for the ministers of the Gospel, it is the 
very work of their calling to help others to heaven, 
Be sure to make it the main end of your studies and 
preaching. He is the able, skillful minister, that is 



the saints' rest. 235 

best skilled in the art of instructing, convincing, per- 
suading, and, consequently, of winning souls ; and 
that is the best sermon that is best in these. When 
you seek not God, but yourselves, God will make 
you the most contemptible of men. It is true of 
your reputation, what Christ says of your life, " He 
that loveth it shall lose it." Let the vigor of your 
persuasions show that you are sensible on how 
weighty a business you are sent. Preach with se- 
riousness and fervor, as men that believe their own 
doctrine, and that know their hearers must be pre- 
vailed with, or be damned. Think not that all your 
work is in your studies and pulpit. You are shep- 
herds, and must know every sheep, and what is their 
disease, and mark their strayings, and help to cure 
them, and fetch them home. Learn of Paul, not 
only to " teach your people publicly, but from house 
to house." Inquire how they grow in knowledge 
and holiness, and on what grounds they build their 
hopes of salvation, and whether they walk upright- 
ly, and perform their duties of their several rela- 
tions. See whether they worship God in their fa- 
milies, and teach them how to do it. Be familiar 
with them, that you may maintain your interest in 
them, and improve it all for God. Know of them 
how they profit by public teaching. If any too lit- 
tle " savor the things of the Spirit," let them be piti- 
ed, but not neglected. If any walk disorderly, re- 
cover them with diligence and patience. If they be 



236 EXCITEMENT TO SEEK 

ignorant, it may be your fault as much as theirs. 
Be not asleep while the wolf is waking. Deal not 
slightly with any. Some will not tell their people 
plainly of their sins, because they are great men; 
and some, because they are godly; as if none but 
the poor and the wicked should be dealt plainly 
with. Yet labor to be skillful and discreet, that the 
manner may answer to the excellency of the mat- 
ter. Every reasonable soul hath both judgment and 
affection ; and every rational, spiritual sermon must 
have both. Study and pray, and pray and study, 
till you are become "workmen that need not be 
ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth;" that 
your people may not be ashamed, nor weary in 
hearing you. Let your conversation be teachingj 
as well as your doctrine. Be as forward in a holy 
and heavenly life as you are in pressing others to 
it. Let your discourse be edifying and spiritual. 
Suffer any thing, rather than the Gospel and men's 
souls should suffer. Let men see that you use not 
the ministry only for a trade to live by ; but that 
your hearts are se£ upon the welfare of souls. 
Whatsoever meekness, humility, condescension, 01 
self-denial you teach them from the Gospel, teach 
it them also by your undissembled example. Study 
and strive after unity and peace. If ever you would 
promote the kingdom of Christ and your peopled 
salvation, do it in a way of peace and love. It is ' 
as hard a thing to maintain in your people a sound 



THE saints' rest. 237 

mderstanding, a tender conscience, a lively, gra- 
cious, heavenly frame of spirit, and an upright life, 
imidst contention, as to keep your candle lighted in 
:he greatest storms. " Blessed is that servant whom 
his Lord, when he cometh, shall find so doing." 

6 Ail you whom God hath intrusted with the 
;are of children and servants, I would also persuade 
o this great work of helping others to the heaven- 
y rest. Consider what plain and pressing com- 
nands of God require this at your hands. " These 
*vords thou shalt teach diligently unto thy children, 
md shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine 
house, and when thou walkest by the way, and 
when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 
Train up a child in the way he should go, and when 
he is old he will not depart from it. Brin$ up your 
children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." 
Joshua resolved that " he and his house would serve 
the Lord." And God himself says of Abraham, 
" I know him, that he will command his children, 
and his household after him, and they shall keep 
the way of the Lord." Consider, it is a duty you 
owe your children in point of justice. From you 
they received the defilement and misery of their na- 
tures ; and therefore you owe them all possible help 
for their recovery. Consider how near your chil- 
dren are to you : they are parts of yourselves. If 
they prosper when you are dead, you take it as if 
you lived and prospered in them ; and should you 



238 EXCITEMENT TO SEEK. 

not be of the same mind for their everlasting rest ? 
Otherwise you will be witnesses against your own 
souls. Your care, and pains, and cost for their bo- 
dies, will condemn you for your neglect of their 
precious souls. Yea, all the brute creation may 
condemn you. Which of them is not tender of 
their young ? Consider, God hath made your chil- 
dren your charge, and your servants too. Every 
one will confess they are the minister's charge. 
And have not you a greater charge of your own 
families than any minister can have of them ? Doubt- 
less at your hands God will require the blood of 
their souls. It is the greatqst charge you were ever 
intrusted with, and wo to you, if you suffer them to 
be ignorant or wicked for want of your instruction 
or correction. Consider what work there is for you 
in their dispositions and lives. Theirs is not one 
sin, but thousands. They have hereditary diseases 
bred in their natures. The things you must teach 
them are contrary to the interests and desires of 
their flesh. May the Lord make you sensible what 
a work and charge lie upon you ! Consider what 
sorrows you prepare for yourselves by the neglect 
of your children. If they prove thorns in your 
eyes, they are of your own planting. If you should 
repent and be saved, is it nothing to think of their 
damnation ; and yourselves the occasion of it ? But 
if you die in your sins, how will they cry out 
against you in hell ! " All this was wrong of you ; 



THE saints' rest. 239 

you should have taught us better, and did not ; you 
should have restrained us from sin and corrected us, 
but did not." What an addition will such outcries 
be to your misery ! On the other side, think what a 
comfort you may have, if you be faithful in this du- 
ty ! If you should not succeed, you have freed your 
own souls, and have peace in your own consciences. 
If you do, the comfort is inexpressible, in their love and 
obedience, their supplying- your wants, and delight- 
ing you in all your remaining path to glory. Yea, 
all your family may fare the better for one pious 
child or servant. But the greatest joy will be, when 
you shall say, " Lord, here am I, and the children 
thou hast given me ;" and shall joyfully live with 
them for ever. Consider how much the welfare of 
church and state depends on this duty. Good laws 
will not reform us, if reformation begin not at home. 
This is the cause of all our miseries in church and 
state, even the want of a holy education of children, 
I also entreat parents to consider what excellent ad- 
vantages they have for promoting the salvation of 
their children. They are with you while they are 
tender and flexible : you have a twig to bend, not an 
oak. None in the world have such interest in their 
affections as you have: you have also the greatest 
authority over them. Their whole dependence is 
upon you for a maintenance. You best know their 
temper and inclinations. And you are ever with 
them, and can never want opportunities : especially 



240 EXCITEMENT TO SEEK. 

you, mothers, remember this, who are more with 
your children, while young, than their fathers. 
What pains are you at for their bodies ! What do 
you suffer to bring" them into the world ! And will 
you not be at as much pains for the saving of their 
souls ? Your affections are tender, and will it not 
move you to think of their perishing for ever ? I 
beseech you, for the sake of the children of your 
bowels, teach them, admonish them, watch over 
them, and give them no rest till you have brought 
them to Christ. 

I shall conclude with this earnest request to all 
Christian parents that read these lines, that they 
would have compassion on the souls of their poor 
children, and be faithful of the great trust that God 
hath put on them. If you cannot do what you would 
for them, yet do what you can. Both church and state, 
city and country, groan under the neglect of this 
weighty duty. Your children know not God nor 
his laws, but "take his name in vain," and slight 
his worship, and you neither instruct them nor cor- 
rect them ; and therefore God corrects both them 
and you. You are so tender of them, that God is the 
less tender of both them and you. Wonder not if 
God makes you smart for your children's sins; for 
you are guilty of all they commit, by your neglect 
of your duty to reform them. Will you resolve 
therefore, to set upon this duty, and neglect it m 
longer ? Remember Eli. Your children are lib 



THE SAINTS 7 REST. 241 

Moses in the bulrushes, ready to perish if they have 
not help. If you would not be charged before God 
as murderers of their souls, nor have them cry out 
against you in everlasting fire, see that you teach 
them how to escape it, and bring them up in holi- 
ness and the fear of God. I charge every one of 
you, upon your allegiance to God, as you will very 
shortly answer the contrary at your peril, that you 
will neither refuse nor neglect this most necessary 
duty. If you are not willing to do it, now you know 
it to be so great a duty, you are rebels, and no true 
subjects of Jesus Christ. If you are willing, but 
know not how, I will add a few words of direction 
to help you. Lead them, by your own example, to 
prayer, reading, and other religious duties ; inform 
their understandings ; store their memories ; rectify 
their wills ; quicken their affections ; keep tender 
their consciences ; restrain their tongues, and teach 
them gracious speech ; reform and watch over their 
outward conversation. To these ends, get them Bi- 
bles and pious books, and see that they read them. 
Examine them often what they learn; especially 
spend the Lord's day in this work, and suffer them not 
to spend it in sports or idleness. Show them the mean- 
ing of what they read or learn. Instruct them out of 
the holy Scriptures. Keep them out of evil com- 
pany, and acquaint them with the godly. Especially 
show them the necessity, excellency, and pleasure of 
serving God, and labor to fix all upon their hearts. 

2 1 Saints' Rest. 



242 THE saints' rest 



CHAPTER X. 



In order to show the sin and folly of expecting rest here, I, 
The reasonableness of present afflictions is considered ; 1. 
That they are the ivay to rest ; 2. Keep us from mistaking 
our rest ; 3. From losing our way to it ; 4. Quicken our 
pace toward it; 5. Chiefly incommode our flesh; 6. Under 
them the sweetest foretastes of rest are often enjoyed. II. How 
unreasonable to rest in present enjoyments; 1. That it is 
idolatry ; 2. That it contradicts God's end in giving them ; 
3. Is the way to have them refused, withdrawn, or imbitter- 
ed ; 4. That to be suffered to take up our rest here is the 
greatest curse ; 5. That it is seeking rest ivhere it is not ; 6. 
That the creatures, without God, would aggravate our mi- 
sery ; 7. And all this is confirmed by experience* III. Horn 
unreasonable our unwillingness to die, and possess the saints 1 
rest, is largely considered. 

We are not yet come to our resting-place. Doth 
it remain ? How great, then, is our sin and folly to 
seek and expect it here ! Where shall we find the 
Christian that deserves not this reproof? We would 
all have continual prosperity, because it is easy and 
pleasing to the flesh ; but we consider not the unrea- 
sonableness of such desires. And when we enjoy con- 
venient houses, goods, lands, and revenues, or the ne- 
cessary means God hath appointed for our spiritual 
good, we seek rest in these enjoyments. Whether 
we are in an afflicted or prosperous state, it is appa- 



IS NOT ON EARTH. 243 

rent, we exceedingly make the creature our rest. 
Do we not desire earthly enjoyments more violent- 
ly, when we want them, than we desire God him- 
self? Do we not delight more in the possession of 
them, than in the enjoyment of God ? And if we 
lose them, doth it not trouble us more than our loss 
of God ? Is it not enough that they are refreshing 
helps in our way to heaven, but they must also be 
made our heaven itself? Christian reader, I would 
as willingly make thee sensible of this sin, as of any 
sin in the world, if I could tell how to do it ; for the 
Lord's great controversy with us is in this point. In 
order to this, I most earnestly beseech thee to consi- 
der the reasonableness of present afflictions, and the 
unreasonableness of resting in present enjoyments ; 
as also of our unwillingness to die, that we may 
possess eternal rest. 

First. To show the reasonableness of present af- 
fliction^ consider — they are the way to rest ; they 
keep us from mistaking our rest, and from losing 
the way to it ; they quicken our pace toward it ; 
they chiefly incommode our flesh; and under them 
God's people have often the sweetest foretastes of 
their rest. 

1. Consider that labor and trouble are the com- 
mon way to rest, both in the course of nature and 
grace. Can there possibly be rest without weari- 
ness 1 Do you not travail and toil first, and rest after ? 
The day for labor is Qrst, and then follows the night 



244 THE saints' rest 

for rest Why should we desire the course of 
grace to be perverted, any more than the course of 
nature 1 It is an established decree, " that we must, 
through much tribulation, enter into the kingdom of 
God;" and that, "if we suffer, we shall also reign 
with Christ." And what are we, that God's sta- 
tutes should be reversed for our pleasure ? 

2. Afflictions are exceedingly useful to us, to 
keep us from mistaking our rest. A Christian's 
motion toward heaven is voluntary, and not con- 
strained. Those means, therefore, are most profit- 
able, which help his understanding and will. The 
most dangerous mistake of our souls is, to take the 
creature for God, and earth for heaven. What 
warm, affectionate, eager thoughts have we of the 
world, till afflictions cool and moderate them ! Af- 
flictions speak convincingly, and will be heard when 
preachers cannot. Many a poor Christian is some- 
times bending his thoughts to wealth, or flesh-pleas- 
ing, or applause, and so loses his relish of Christ, 
and the joy above; till God break in upon his 
riches, or children, or conscience, or health, and 
break down his mountain which he thought so 
strong. And then when he lieth in Manasseh's fet- 
ters, or is fastened to his bed with pining sickness, 
the world is nothing, and heaven is something. If 
our dear Lord did not put these thorns under our 
head, we should sleep out our lives, and lose our 
glory. 



IS NOT ON EARTH. 245 

3. Afflictions are also God's most effectual means 
to keep us from losing our way to our rest. With- 
out this hedge of thorns on the right hand and left, 
we should hardly keep the way to heaven. If 
there be but one gap open, how ready are we to find it, 
and turn out at it ! When we grow wanton, or 
worldly, or proud, how much doth sickness or 
other affliction reduce us ! Every Christian, as well 
as Luther, may call affliction one of the best school- 
masters ; and, with David, may say, " Before I was 
afflicted, I went astray ; but now have I kept thy 
word." Many thousand recovered sinners may 
cry, "O healthful sickness ! O comfortable sorrows ! 
O gainful losses ! O enriching poverty ! O blessed 
day that ever I was afflicted !" Not only the "green 
pastures and still waters, but the rod and staff, they 
comfort us." Though the word and Spirit do the 
main work, yet suffering so unbolts the door of the 
heart, that the word hath easier entrance. 

4. Afflictions likewise serve to quicken our pace 
in the way to our rest. It were well, if mere love 
would prevail with us, and that we were rather 
drawn to heaven than driven. But, seeing our 
hearts are so bad that mercy will not do it, it is bet- 
ter to be put on with the sharpest scourge, than loi- 
ter, like the foolish virgins, till the door is shut. O 
what a difference is there betwixt our prayers in 
health and in sickness ! betwixt our repentings in 
prosperity and adversity ! Alas ! if we did not 
s. r. 21* 



246 THE saints' rest 

sometimes feel the spur, what a slow pace would 
most of us hold toward heaven ! Since our vile na- 
tures require it, why should we be unwilling that 
God should do us good by sharp means ? Judge, 
Christian, whether thou dost not go more watchful- 
ly and speedily in the way to heaven, in thy suffer- 
ings 1 than in thy more pleasing and prosperous 
state. 

5. Consider, further, it is but the flesh that is 
chiefly troubled and grieved by afflictions. In most 
of our sufferings the soul is free, unless we our- 
selves willfully afflict it. " Why, then, O my soul, 
dost thou side with this flesh, and complain as it 
complaineth ? It should be thy work to keep it un- 
der, and bring it into subjection; and if God do it 
for thee, shouldst thou be discontented ? Hath not 
the pleasing of it been the cause of almost all thy 
spiritual sorrows ? Why, then, may not the displeas- 
ing of it further thy joy % Must not Paul and Silas 
sing, because their feet are in the stocks ? Their 
spirits were not imprisoned. Ah, unworthy soul ! is 
this thy thanks to God for preferring thee so far be- 
fore thy body % When it is rotting in the grave, thou 
shalt be a companion of the perfected spirits of the 
just. In the meantime, hast thou not consolation 
which the flesh knows not of 1 Murmur not, then, 
at God's dealings with thy body : if it were for want 
of love to thee, he would not have dealt so by all his 
saints, Never expect thy flesh should truly expound 



IS NOT ON EARTH. 247 

the meaning of the rod. It will call love hatred, and 
say, God is destroying, when he is saving. It is the 
suffering party, and therefore not fit to be the judge." 
Could we once believe God, and judge of his deal- 
ings by his word, and by their usefulness to our 
souls and reference to our rest, and could w T e stop 
our ears against all the clamors of the flesh, then we 
should have a truer judgment of our afflictions. 

6. Once more, consider, God seldom gives his 
people so sweet a foretaste of their future rest, as in 
their deep afflictions. He keeps his most precious 
cordials for the time of our greatest faintings and 
dangers. He gives them when he knows they are 
needed and will be valued, and when he is sure 
to be thanked for them, and that his people will be 
rejoiced by them. Especially when our sufferings 
are more directly for his cause, then he seldom fails 
to sweeten the bitter cup. The martyrs have pos- 
sessed the highest joys. When did Christ preach 
such comfort to his disciples, as when " their hearts 
were sorrowful" at his departure? When did he 
appear among them, and say, " Peace be unto you," 
but w T hen they were shut up for fear of the Jews ? 
When did Stephen see heaven opened, but when he 
was giving up his life for the testimony of Jesus ? 
Is not that our best state, wherein we have most of 
God % Why else do we desire to come to heaven ? 
If we look for a heaven of fleshly delights, we shall 
find ourselves mistaken. Conclude, then, that afflic- 



248 THE SAINTS* REST 

tion is not so bad a state for a saint in his way to 
rest. Are we wiser than God? Doth he not know 
what is good for us, as well as we ? or is he not as 
careful of our good as we are of our own ? Wo to 
us, if he were not much more so ; and if he did not 
love us better than we love either him or ourselves I 
Say not, " I could bear any other affliction but 
this." If God had afflicted thee where thou canst 
bear it, thy idol would neither have been discovered 
nor removed. Neither say, " If God would deliver 
me out of it, I could be content to bear it." Is it no- 
thing, that he hath promised it " shall work for thy 
good?" Is it not enough that thou art sure to be de- 
livered at death ? Nor let it be said, " If my afflic- 
tion did not disable me from my duty, I could bear 
it." It doth not disable thee for that duty which tend- 
eth to thy own personal benefit, but is the greatest 
quickening help thou canst expect. As for thy duty 
to others, it is not thy duty when God disables thee. 
Perhaps thou wilt say, " The godly are my afflict- 
ers ; if it were ungodly men, I could easily bear it." 
Whoever is the instrument, the affliction is from 
God, and the deserving cause thyself; and is it not 
better to look more to God than thyself?. Didst thou 
not know that the best men are still sinful in part ? 
Do not plead, u If I had but that consolation which 
you say God reserveth for suffering times, I should 
suffer more contentedly ; but I do not perceive any 
such thing." The more you suffer for righteousness' 



IS NOT ON EARTH. 249 

sake, the more of this blessing you may expect ; and 
the more you suffer for your own evil doing, the 
longer it will be before that sweetness comes. Are 
not the comforts you desire neglected or resisted ? 
Have your afflictions wrought kindly with you, and 
fitted you for comfort ? It is not suffering that pre- 
pares you for comfort, but the success and fruit of 
suffering upon your hearts. 

Secondly. To show the unreasonableness of rest- 
ing in present enjoyments, consider — it is idolizing 
them; it contradicts God's end in giving them ; it 
is the way to have them refused, withdrawn, or im= 
bittered ; to be suffered to take up our rest here, is 
the greatest curse ; it is seeking rest where it is not 
to be found ; the creatures, without God, would ag- 
gravate our misery ; and to confirm all this, we may 
consult our own and others' experience. 

1. It is gross idolatry to make any creature, or 
means, our rest. To be the rest of the soul, is God's 
own prerogative. As it is apparent idolatry to place 
our rest in riches or honors, so it is but a more re- 
fined idolatry to take up our rest in excellent means 
of grace. How it must offend our dear Lord, when 
we give him cause to complain, as he did of our 
fellow-idolaters : " My people have been lost sheep ; 
they have forgotten their resting-place. My people 
can find rest in any thing rather than in me, They 
can delight in one another, but not in me. They 
can rejoice in my creatures and ordinances, but not 






250 THE saints' rest 

in me. Yea, in their very labors and duties they 
seek for rest, but not in me. They had rather be 
any where than be with me. Are these their gods ? 
Have these redeemed them ? Will these be better 
to them than I have been, or than I would be t" 
If yourselves had a wife, a husband, a son, who 
had rather be any where than in your company, 
and was never so merry as when farthest from 
you, would you not take it ill? So our God must 
needs do 

2. You contradict the end of God in giving these 
enjoyments. He gave them to help thee to him, 
and dost thou take up with them in his stead ? He 
gave them to be refreshments in thy journey, and 
wouldst thou dwell in thy inn and go no farther ? 
It may be said of all our comforts and ordinances, 
as is said of the Israelites, " The ark of the covenant 
of the Lord went before them, to search out a rest- 
ing-place for them." So do all God's mercies here. 
They are not that rest ; as John professed he was 
not the Christ ; but they are " voices crying in this 
wilderness," to bid us prepare, " for the kingdom of 
God," our true rest, "is at hand." Therefore, to 
rest here, were to turn all mercies contrary to theif 
own ends and to our own advantages, and to destroy 
ourselves with that which should help us. 

3. It is the way to cause God either to deny the 
mercies we ask, or to take from us those we enjoy, 
or at least imbitter them to us. God is nowhere so 



IS NOT ON EARTH. 251 

jealous as here. If you had a servant whom your 
wife loved better than yourself, would you not take 
it ill of such a wife, and rid your house of such a 
servant ? So, if the Lord see you begin to settle in 
the world, and say, " Here I will rest," no wonder 
if he soon, in his jealousy, unsettle you. If he love 
you, no wonder if he take that from you with which 
he sees you are destroying yourselves. It hath long 
been my observation of many, that when they have 
attempted great works, and have just finished them j 
or have aimed at great things in the world, and have 
just obtained them ; or have lived in much trouble, 
and have just overcome it ; and begin to look on 
their condition with content, and rest in it; they are 
then usually near to death or ruin. When a man 
is once at this language, " Soul, take thy ease," the 
next news usually is, " Thou fool, this night," or 
this month, or this year, " thy soul shall be requir- 
ed, and then whose shall these things be VI What 
house is there, where this fool dwelleth not? Let 
you and I consider whether it be not our own case. 
Many a servant of God hath been destroyed from 
the earth, by being overvalued and overloved. I 
am persuaded, our discontents and murmurings are 
not so provoking to God, nor so destructive to the 
sinner, as our too sweet enjoying, and resting in, a 
pleasing state. If God hath crossed you in wife 
children, goods, friends, either by taking them 
away, or the comfort of them, try whether this be 



252 



THE SAINTS REST 



not the cause ; for wheresoever your desires stop, 
and you say, " Now I am well," that condition you 
make your god, and engage the jealousy of God 
against it. Whether you be friends to God, or ene- 
mies, you can never expect that God should suffer 
you quietly to enjoy your idols. 

4. Should God suffer you to take up your rest 
here, it is one of the greatest curses that could befall 
you. It were better never to have a day of ease in 
the world ; for then weariness might make you seek 
after true rest. But if you are suffered to sit down 
and rest here, a restless wretch you will be through 
all eternity. To " have their portion in this life," 
is the lot of the most miserable, perishing sinners. 
Doth it become Christians, then, to expect so much 
here? Our rest is our heaven ; and where we take 
our rest, there we make our heaven. And wouldst 
thou have but such a heaven as this ? 

5. It is seeking rest where it is not to be found, 
Your labor will be lost ; and if you proceed, your 
soul's eternal rest too. Our rest is only in the full 
obtaining of our ultimate end. But that is not to be 
expected in this life ; neither is. rest, therefore, to be 
expected here. Is God to be enjoyed in the best 
church here, as he is in heaven ? How little of God 
the saints enjoy under the best means, let their own 
complainings testify. Poor comforters are the best 
ordinances without God. Should a traveler take up 
his rest in the way ? No ; because his home is his 



IS NOT ON EARTH. 253 

journey's end. When you have all that creatures 
and means can afford, have you that you believed, 
prayed, suffered for ? I think you dare not say so. 
We are like little children strayed from home, and 
God is now fetching us home, and we are ready to 
turn into any house, stay and play with every thing 
in our way, and sit down on every green bank, and 
much ado there is to get us home. We are also 
in the midst of our labors and dangers ; and is there 
any resting here ? What painful work doth lie upon 
our hands ! to our brethren, to our souls, and to 
God; and what an arduous work, in respect to each of 
these, doth lie before us ! And can we rest in the 
midst of all our labors ? Indeed, we may rest on 
earth, as the ark is said to have " rested in the midst 
of Jordan " — a short and small rest ; or as Abraham 
desired the "angels to turn in and rest themselves" 
in his tent, where they would have been loth to have 
taken up their dwelling. Should Israel have fixed 
their rest in the wilderness, among serpents, and 
enemies, and weariness, and famine ? Should Noah 
have made the ark his home, and have been loth to 
come forth when the waters were assuaged ? Should 
the mariner choose his dwelling on the sea, and set- 
tle his rest in the midst of rocks, and sands, and ra- 
ging tempests ? Should a soldier rest in the thickest 
of his enemies % And are not Christians such travel 
ers, such mariners, such soldiers? Have you not 
fears within and troubles without? Are we not ia 

22 Saints' Rest. 



254 THE saints' rest 

continual dangers ? We cannot eat, drink, sleep, la- 
bor, pray, hear, converse, but in the midst of snares; 
and shall we sit down and rest here ? O Christian, 
follow thy work, look to thy dangers, hold on to the 
end, win the field, and come off the ground, before 
thou think of a settled rest. Whenever thou talkest 
of a rest on earth, it is like Peter on the mount, 
" thou knowest not what thou sayest." If, instead 
of telling the converted thief, " this day shalt thou 
be with me in paradise," Christ had said he should 
rest there upon the cross, would he not have taken 
it for a derision?- Methinks it would be ill resting 
in the midst of sickness and pains, persecutions and 
distresses. But if nothing else will convince us, yet 
sure the remainders of sin, which does so easily be- 
set us, should quickly satisfy a believer, that here is 
not his rest. I say, therefore, to every one that think- 
eth of rest on earth, " Arise ye, and depart, for this 
is not your rest, because it is polluted." These 
things cannot, in their nature, be a true Christian's 
rest. They are too poor to make us rich ; too low 
to raise us to happiness ; too empty to fill our souls ; 
ani of too short a continuance to be our eternal con- 
tent. If prosperity, and whatsoever we here desire, 
be too base to make gods of, they are too base to be 
our rest. The soul's rest must be sufficient to af- 
ford it perpetual satisfaction. But the content which 
creatures afford, waxes old, and abates after a short 
enjoyment. If God should rain down angels' food* 



IS NOT ON EARTH. 255 

we should soon loathe the manna.. If novelty sap- 
port not, our delights on earth grow dull. All crea- 
tures are to us as the flowers to the bee ; there is 
but little honey on any one, and therefore there must 
be a superficial taste, and so to the next. The more 
the creature is known, the less it satisfletli. Those 
only are taken with it, who see no farther than its 
outward beauty, without discerning ics inward van- 
ity. When we thoroughly know the condition of 
other men, and have discovered the evil as well as 
the good, and the defects as well as the perfections, 
we then cease our admiration. 

6. To have creatures and means without God, is 
an aggravation of our misery. If God should say, 
" Take my creatures, my w T ord, my servants, my 
ordinances, but not myself,' 5 would you take this for 
happiness ? If you had the word of God, and not 
" the Word," which is God ; or the bread of the 
Lord, and not the Lord, which " is the true bread ;" 
or could cry .with the Jews, "The temple of the 
Lord," and had not the Lord of the temple ; this 
were a poor happiness. Was Capernaum the more 
happy, or the more miserable, for seeing the mighty 
works which they had seen, and hearing the words 
of Christ which they did hear % Surely that w T hich 
aggravates our sin and misery cannot be our rest, 

7. To confirm all this, let us consult our own and 
others' experience. Millions have made trial, but 
did any ever find a sufficient rest for his soul on 



256 the saints' rest 

earth ? Delights I deny not but they have found, 
but rest and satisfaction they never found. And shall 
we think to find that which never man could find 
before us? Ahab's kingdom is nothing to him with- 
out Naboth's vineyard; and did that satisfy him 
when he obtained it ? Were you, like Noah's dove, 
to look through the earth for a resting-place, you 
would return confessing that you could find none. 
Go ask honor, Is there rest here % You may as well 
rest on the top of tempestuous mountains, or in 
iEtna's flames. Ask riches, Is there rest here? 
Even such as is in a bed of thorns. If you inquire 
for rest of worldly pleasure, it is such as the fish 
hath in swallowing the bait ; when the pleasure is 
sweetest, death is nearest. Go to learning, and even 
to divine ordinances, and inquire whether there 
your souls may rest. You might indeed receive 
from these an olive branch of hope, as they are 
means to your rest, and have relation to eternity ; 
but, in regard of any satisfaction in themselves, you 
would remain as restless as ever. How well might 
all these answer us, as Jacob did Rachel, " Am I in 
God's stead," that you come to me for soul-rest I 
Not all the states of men in the world; neither court 
nor country, towns nor cities, shops nor fields, trea- 
sures, libraries, solitude, society, studies, nor pulpits, 
can afford any such thing as this rest. If you could 
inquire of the dead of all generations, or of the living 
through all dominions, they would ali tell you, 



IS NOT ON EARTH, 257 

" Here is no rest." Or, if other men's experience 
move you not, take a view of your own. Can you 
remember the state that did fully satisfy you ? or, if 
3 r ou could, will it prove lasting? I believe we may 
all say of our earthty rest, as Paul of our hope, " If 
it were in this life only, we are of all men the most 
miserable." 

If, then, either Scripture or reason, or the expe- 
rience of ourselves and all the Avorld, will convince 
us, we may see there is no resting here. And yet 
how guilty are the generality of us of this sin ! 
How many halts and stops do we make, before we 
will make the Lord our rest ! How must God even 
drive us, and fire us out of every condition, lest we 
should sit down and rest there ! If he gives us pros- 
perity, riches, or honor, we do in our hearts dance 
before them, as the Israelites before their calf, and 
say, " These are thy gods ;" and conclude, " it is 
good to be here." If he imbitter all these to us, 
how restless are we till our condition be sweetened, 
that we may sit down again and rest where we 
were ! If he proceed in the cure, and take the crea- 
ture quite away, then we labor, and cry, and pray 
that God would restore it, that we may make it our 
rest again ! And while we are deprived of our for- 
mer idol, yet, rather than come to God, we delight 
ourselves in the hope of recovering it, and make 
that very hope our rest, or search about from creature 
to creature, to find out something to supply the room ; 

s. r. 22* 



258 THE saints' rest 

yea, if we can find no supply, yet we will rather 
settle in this misery, and make a rest of a wretched 
being, than leave all and come to God. O the curs- 
ed aversion of our souls from God ! If any place 
in hell were tolerable, the soul would rather take up 
its rest there than come to God. Yea, when he is 
bringing* us over to him, and hath convinced us of 
the worth of his ways and service, the last deceit of 
all is here ; we will rather settle upon those ways 
that lead to him, and those ordinances that speak of 
him, and those gifts which flow from him, than 
come entirely over to himself. Christians, marvel not 
that I speak so much of resting in these ; beware, 
lest it prove thy own case. I suppose thou art so 
far convinced of the vanity of riches, honor, and 
pleasure, that thou canst more easily disclaim these ; 
and it is well if it be so ; but the means of grace thou 
lookest on with less suspicion, and thinkest thou 
canst not delight in them too much, especially see- 
ing most of the world despise them, or delight in them 
too little. I know they must be loved and valued ; and 
he that delighteth in any worldly thing more than in 
them, is not a Christian. But when we are content 
with ordinances without God, and had rather be at a 
sermon than in heaven, and a member of the church 
here than of the perfect church above, this is a sad mis- 
take. So far let thy soul take comfort in ordinances, 
as God doth accompany them ; remembering, this is 
not heaven, but the first-fruits. " While we are pre- 



IS NOT ON EARTH. 259 

sent in the body, we are absent from the Lord;" and 
while we are absent from him, we are absent from 
our rest. If God were as willing to be absent from 
us as we from him, and as loth to be our rest as we 
to rest in him, we should be left to an eternal restless 
separation. In a word, as you are sensible of the sin- 
fulness of your earthly discontents, so be you also of 
your irregular satisfaction, and pray God to pardon 
them much more. And, above all the- plagues on this 
side hell, see that you watch and pray against set- 
tling any where short of heaven, or reposing your 
souls on any thing below God. 

Thirdly. The next thing to be considered, is our 
unreasonable unwillingness to die, that we may pos- 
sess the saints 1 rest. We linger, like Lot in Sodom, 
till " the Lord, being merciful unto us," doth pluck 
us away against our will. I confess that death, of 
itself, is not desirable ; but the soul's rest with God 
is, to which death is the common passage. Be- 
cause we are apt to make light of this sin, let me 
set before you its nature and remedy, in a variety of 
considerations ; as, for instance, it has in it much 
infidelity. If we did verily believe that the 
promise of this glory is the word of God, and that 
God doth truly mean as he speaks, and is fully re- 
solved to make it good ; if we did verily believe 
that there is indeed such blessedness prepared for 
believers, surely we should be as impatient of liv- 
ing as we are noAv fearful of dying, and should 



260 THE saints' rest 

think every day a year till our last day should come. 
Is it possible that we can truly believe that death 
will remove us from misery to such glory, and yet 
be loth to die? If the doubts of our own interest in 
that glory make us fear, yet a true belief of the 
certainty and excellency of this rest would make us 
restless till our title to it be cleared. Though there 
is much faith and Christianity in our mouths, yet 
there is much infidelity and paganism in our hearts, 
which is the chief cause that we are so loth to die. 
It is also much owing to the coldness of our love. 
If we love our friend, we love his company; his 
presence is comfortable, his absence is painful ; 
when he comes to us, we entertain him with glad- 
ness ; when he dies, we mourn, and usually over- 
mourn. To be separated from a faithful friend, is like 
the rending a member from our body. And would not 
our desires after God be such, if we really loved 
him ? Nay, should it not be much more than such, 
as he is, above all friends, most lovely ? May the 
Lord teach us to look closely to our hearts, and 
take heed of self-deceit in this point ! Whatever we 
pretend, if Ave love either father, mother, hus- 
band, wife, child, friend, wealth, or life itself, 
more than Christ, we are yet " none of his " sincere 
" disciples." When it comes to the trial, the question 
will not be, Who hath preached most, or heard most, 
or talked most ? but, Who hath loved most ? Christ 
will not take sermons, prayers, fastings ; no, nor the 



IS NOT ON EARTH. 261 

"giving our goods," nor the "burning our bodies," 
instead of love. And do we love him, and yet care 
not how long we are from him ? Was it such a joy- 
to Jacob to see the face of Joseph in Egypt ? and 
shall we be contented without the sight of Christ in 
glory, and yet say we love him ? I dare not con* 
elude that we have no love at all, when we are so 
loth to die ; but I dare say, were our love more, 
we should die more willingly. If this holy flame 
were thoroughly kindled in our breasts, we should 
cry out with David, " As the hart panteth after the 
water-brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God ! 
My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God; 
when shall I come and appear before God ?" By 
our unwillingness to die, it appears we are little 
weary of sin. Did we take sin for the greatest 
evil, we should not be willing to have its company 
so long. " O foolish, sinful heart ! hast thou been 
so long a cage of all unclean lusts, a fountain in- 
cessantly pouring forth the bitter waters of trans- 
gression, and art thou not yet weary ? Wretched 
soul ! hast thou been so long wounded in all thy 
faculties, so grievously languishing in all thy per- 
formances, so fruitful a soil of all iniquities, and art 
thou not yet more weary ? Wouldst thou still lie 
under thy imperfections ? Hath thy sin proved so 
profitable a commodity, so necessary a companion, 
such a delightful employment, that thou dost so 
much dread the parting day ? May not God justly 



262 THE saints' rest 

grant thee thy wishes, and seal thee a lease of thy 
desired distance from him, and nail thy ears to these 
doors of misery, and exclude thee eternally from his 
glory ?" It shows that we are insensible of the vanity 
of the world, when we are so loth to hear or think 
of a removal. " Ah, foolish, wretched louI ! doth 
every prisoner groan for freedom ? and every slave 
desire his jubilee ? and every sick man long for 
health ? and every hungry man for food ? and dost 
thou alone abhor deliverance ? Doth the sailor wish 
to see land % Doth the husbandman desire the har- 
vest, and the laborer to receive his pay ? Doth the 
traveler long to be at home, and the racer to win 
the prize, and the soldier to win the field ? and art 
thou loth to see thy labors finished, and to receive 
the end of thy faith and sufferings % Have thy 
griefs been only dreams ? If they were, yet methinks 
thou shouldst not be afraid of waking. Or is it not 
rather the world's delights that are all mere dreams 
and shadows ? Or is the world become of late more 
kind ? We may at our peril reconcile ourselves to 
the world, but it will never reconcile itself to us. 
O unworthy soul ! who hadst rather dwell, in this 
land of darkness, and wander in this barren wil- 
derness, than be at rest with Jesus Christ! who 
hadst rather stay among the wolves, and daily suf- 
fer the scorpion's stings, than praise the Lord with 
(lie host of heaven." 

This unwillingness to die doth actually impeach 



IS NOT ON EARTH. 263 

us of high treason against the Lord. Is it not choos- 
ing earth before him, and taking present things 
for our happiness, and consequently making them 
our very god? If we did indeed make God our end, 
our rest, our portion, our treasure, how is it possible 
but we should desire to enjoy him % It, moreover, 
discovers some dissimulation. Would you have any 
man believe you, when you call the Lord your only 
hope, and speak of Christ as all in all, and of the 
joy that is in his presence, and yet would endure 
the hardest life, rather than die, and enter into his 
presence? What self-contradiction is this, to talk so 
hardly of the world and the flesh, to groan and com- 
plain of sin and suffering, and yet fear no day more 
than that we expect should bring our final freedom ! 
What hypocrisy is this to profess to strive and fight 
for heaven, which we are loth to come to ! and spend 
one hour after another in prayer for that which we 
would not have ! Hereby we wrong the Lord and 
his promises, and disgrace his ways in the eyes of 
the world : as if we would persuade them to ques- 
tion whether God be true to his word or not ; whe- 
ther there be any such glory as the Scripture men- 
tions. When they see those so loth to leave their 
hold of present things, who have professed to live by 
faith, and have boasted of their hopes in another 
world, and spoken disgracefully of all things be- 
low, in compari son of things above, how doth this 
confirm the world in their unbelief and sensuality! 



264 THE saints' rest 

"Sure,' say they, "if these professors did expect 
so much glory, and make so light of the world as 
they seem, they would not themselves be so loth to 
change." O how are we ever able to repair the 
wrong which we do to God and souls by this scan- 
dal ? And what an honor to God, what a strength- 
ening to believers, what a conviction to unbelievers 
would it be, if Christians in this did answer their 
profession, and cheerfully welcome the news of rest !' 
It also evidently shows that Ave have spent much 
time to little purpose. Have we not had all our life- 
time to prepare to die ; so many years to make rea- 
dy for one hour ; and are we so unready and un- 
willing yet ? What have we done ? Why have we 
lived? Had we any greater matters to mind?' 
Would we have wished for more frequent warnings ? 
How oft hath death entered the habitations of our 
neighbors I How often hath it knocked at our own 
door \ How many distempers have vexed our bodies, 
that we have been forced to receive the sentence of 
death ! And are we unready and unwilling after all 
this? O careless, dead-hearted sinners ! unworthy 
neglectors of God's warnings ! faithless betrayers ol 
our own souls ! 

Consider, not to die is never to be happy. To- 
escape death is to miss of blessedness, except God 
should translate us, as Enoch and Elijah, which he 
never did before or since. " If in this life only we* 
have hope in Christ, we are of all men most mise» 



IS NOT ON EARTH. 265 

I able." If you would not die, and go to heaven, what 
would you have more than an epicure or a beast 1 
Why do we pray, and fast, and mourn ; why do we 
suffer the contempt of the world ; why are Ave Chris- 
tians, and not pagans and infidels, if we do not desire 
a life to come? Wouldst thou lose thy faith and la- 
bor, Christian ; all thy duties and sufferings, all the 
end of thy life, and all the blood of Christ, and be 
contented with the portion of a worldling or a brute? 
Rather say, as one did on his death-bed, when he 
was asked whether he was willing to die or not, 
" Let him be loth to die who is loth to be with 
Christ." Is God willing by death to glorify us, and 
are we unwilling to die, that we may be glorified ? 
Methinks, if a prince were willing to make you his 
heir, you would scarce be unwilling to accept it ; 
the refusing such a kindness would discover ingra- 
titude and unworthiness. As God hath resolved 
against them who make excuses when they should 
come to Christ, " None of those men, who were bid- 
den, shall taste of my supper ;" so it is just with him 
to resolve against us, who frame excuses when we 
should come to glory. The Lord Jesus Christ was 
willing to come from heaven to earth for us, and shall 
we be unwilling to remove from earth to heaven for 
ourselves and him ? He might have said, " What is 
it to me if these sinners suffer ? If they value their 
flesh above their spirits, and their lusts above my 
Father's love; if they will sell their souls for naught, 

23 Saints' Rest. 



266 THE SAINTS* REST 

who is it fit should be the loser ? Should I, whom 
they have wronged ? Must they willfully transgress 
my law, and I undergo their deserved pain % Must 
I come down from heaven to earth, and clothe my- 
self with human flesh, be spit upon and scorned by 
man, and fast, and weep, and sweat, and suffer, and 
bleed, and die a cursed death; and all this for wretch- 
ed worms, who would rather hazard their souls than 
forbear one forbidden morsel ? Do they cast away 
themselves so slightly, and must I redeem them so 
dearly ?" Thus we see Christ had reason enough 
■ to have made him unwilling ; and yet did he volun- 
tarily condescend. But we have no reason against 
our coming to him ; except we will* reason against 
our hopes, and plead for a perpetuity of our own 
calamities. Christ came down to raise us up ; and 
would we have him lose his blood and labor, and go 
again without us % Hath he bought our rest at so 
dear a rate ? Is our inheritance " purchased with his 
blood?" And are we, after all this, loth to enter? 
Ah, sirs ! it was Christ, and not we, that had cause 
to be loth. May the Lord forgive, and heal this 
foolish ingratitude ! 

Do we not combine with our most cruel foes in 
their most malicious designs, while we are loth to 
die, and go to heaven ? What is the devil's daily 
business ? Is it not to keep our souls from God ? 
And shall we be content with this ? Is it not tho 
one half of hell which we wish to ourselves, while 



IS NOT ON EARTH. 267 

we desire to be aftsent from heaven ? What sport is 
this to Satan, that his desires and thine, Christian, 
should so concur ! that, when he sees he cannot get 
thee to hell, he can so long keep thee out of heaven, 
and make thee the earnest petitioner for it thyself ! O 
gratify not the devil so much to thy own injury ! Do 
not our daily fears of death make our lives a continual 
torment? Those lives which might be full of joy, in 
the daily contemplations of the life to come, and the 
sweet, delightful thoughts of bliss ; how do we fill 
them up with causeless terrors ! Thus we consume 
our own comforts, and prey upon our truest plea- 
sures. When we might lie down, and rise up, and 
walk abroad, with our hearts full of the joys of God, 
we continually fill them with perplexing fears. For 
he that fears dying, must be always fearing ; because 
he hath always reason to expect it. And how can 
that man's life be comfortable, who lives in conti- 
nual fear of losing his comforts? Are not these 
fears of death self-created sufferings ? as if God had 
not inflicted enough upon us, but w r e must inflict 
more upon ourselves. Is not death bitter enough 
to the flesh of itself, but we must double and treble 
its bitterness % The sufferings laid upon us by God 
do all lead to happy issues ; the progress is from 
tribulation to patience, from thence to experience 
and so to hope, and at last to glory. But the suffer- 
ings we make for ourselves are circular and endless, 
from sin to suffering, from suffering to sin, and so to 



268 THE saints' rest 

suffering again ; and not only so,* but they multiply 
in their course ; every sin is greater than the former, 
and so every suffering also: so that, except we think 
God hath made us to be our own tormentors, we 
have small reason to nourish our fears of death. 
And are they not useless, unprofitable fears ? As all 
our care " cannot make one hair white or black, nor 
add one cubit to our stature," so neither can our 
fear prevent our sufferings, nor delay our death one 
hour : willing or unwilling, we must away. Many 
a man's fears have hastened his end, but no man's 
did ever avert it. It is true, a cautious fear concern- 
ing the danger after death hath profited many, and 
is very useful to the preventing of that danger ; but 
for a member of Christ, and an heir of heaven, to 
be afraid of entering his own inheritance, is a sin- 
ful, useless fear. And do not our fears of dying 
insnare our souls, and add strength to many temp 
tations? What made Peter deny his Lord? What 
makes apostates in suffering times forsake the truth ? 
Why does the green blade of unrooted faith wither 
before the heat of persecution ? Fear of imprison- 
ment and poverty may do much, but fear of death 
will do much more. So much fear as we have of 
death, so much cowardice we usually have in the 
cause of God ; beside the multitude of unbelieving 
contrivances, and discontents at the wise disposal of 
God, and hard thoughts of most of his providences, 
of which this sin makes us guilty. 



IS NOT ON EARTH. 269 

Let us further consider what a competent time 
most of us have had. Why should not a man, that 
would die at all, be as willing at thirty or forty, if 
God see fit, as at seventy or eighty ? Length of time 
does not conquer corruption ; it never withers nor 
decays through age. Except we receive an addi- 
tion of grace as well as time, we naturally grow 
worse. " O my soul, depart m peace ! As thou 
wouldst not desire an unlimited state in wealth and 
honor, so desire it not in point of time. If thou wast 
sensible how little thou deservest an hour of that 
patience which thou hast enjoyed, thou wouldst 
think thou hadst had a large part. Is it not divine 
wisdom that sets the bounds ? God will honor him- 
self by various persons and several ages, and not by 
one person or 'age. Seeing thou hast acted thy own 
part, and finished thy appointed course, come down 
contentedly, that others may succeed, who must have 
their turns as well as thyself. Much time hath much 
duty : beg therefore for grace to improve it better ; 
but be content with thy share of time. Thou hast 
also had a competency of the comforts of life. God 
might have made thy life a burden, till thou hadst 
been as weary of possessing it as thou art now 
afraid of losing it. He might have suffered thee to 
have consumed thy days in ignorance, without the 
true knowledge of Christ : but he hath opened thy 
eyes in the morning of thy days, and acquainted 
thee betimes with the business of thy life. Hath 

s fc 23* 



270 THE SAINTS REST 

thy heavenly Father caused thy lot to fall in Eu- 
rope, not in Asia or Africa; in England, not in 
Spain or Italy ? Hath he filled up all thy life with 
mercies, and dost thou now think thy share too 
small? What a multitude of hours of consolation, 
of delightful Sabbaths, of pleasant studies, of pre- 
cious companions, of wonderful deliverances, of ex- 
cellent opportunities, of fruitful labors, of joyful tid- 
ings, of sweet experiences, of astonishing provi- 
dences, hath thy life partaken of! Hath thy life 
been so sweet that thou art loth to leave it ? Is this 
thy thanks to Him, who is thus drawing thee to his 
own sweetness ? O foolish soul ! would thou wast 
as covetous after eternity as thou art for a fading, 
perishing life ! and after the presence of God in glo- 
ry, as thou art for continuance on earth ! Then thou 
wouldst cry, " Why is his chariot so long in com- 
ing ? Why tarry the wheels of his chariot V\ How 
long, Lord ? How long ? What if God should let 
thee live many years, but deny thee the mercies 
which thou hast hitherto enjoyed? Might he not 
give thee life, as he gave the murmuring Israelites 
quails ? He might give thee life till thou art weary 
of living, and as glad to be rid of it as Judas or Ahi- 
thophel j and make thee like many miserable crea- 
tures in the world, who can hardly forbear laying 
violent hands on themselves. Be not therefore so 
importunate for life, which may prove a judgment 
instead of a blessing. How many of the precious 



IS NOT ON EARTH. 271 

servants of God, of all ages and places, have gone 
before thee ! Thou art not to enter an untrodden 
path, nor appointed first to break the ice. Except 
Enoch and Elijah, which of the saints have escaped 
death ? And art thou better than they ? There are 
many millions of saints dead, more than now re- 
main on earth. What a number of thine own bo- 
som friends, and companions in duty, are now gone, 
and why shouldst thou be so loth to follow ? Nay, 
hath not Jesus Christ himself gone this way ? Hath 
he not sanctified the grave to us, and perfumed the 
dust with his own body, and art thou loth to follow 
him too ? Rather say as Thomas, " Let us also go, 
that we may die with him." 

If what has been said will not persuade, Scripture 
and reason have little force. And I have said the 
more on this subject, finding it so needful to myself 
and others ; finding among so many Christians, who 
could do and suffer much for Christ, so few that can 
willingly die ; and of many, who have somewhat 
subdued other corruptions, so few that have gotten 
the conquest of this. I persuade not the ungodly 
from fearing death : it is a wonder that they fear it 
no more, and spend not their days in continual 
horror. 



272 IMPORTANCE OF A HEAVENLY 



CHAPTER XI. 



THE IMPORTANCE OP LEADING A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH, 

The reasonableness of delighting in the thoughts of the saints 1 
rest Christians exhorted to it, by considering, l v It will 
evidence their sincere piety ; 2. It is the highest excellence of 
the Christian temper ; 3. It leads to the most comfortable life ; 
4. It will be the best preservative from temptations to sin ; 5. 
It will invigorate their graces and duties; 6. It will be their 
best cordial in afflictions ; 7. It will render them most profita* 
He to others ; 8. It will honor God ; 9. Without it we disobey 
the commands, and lose the most gracious and delightful disco- 
veries of the word of God. 10. It is the more reasonable to 
have our hearts with God, as his is much on us; and, 11. in 
heaven t where we have so much interest and relation ; 12. 
Besides, there is nothing but heaven worth setting our hearts 
upon. 

1. Is there such a rest remaining for us? Why, 
then, are not our thoughts more upon it ? Why are 
not our hearts continually there % Why dwell we 
not there in constant contemplation? What is the 
cause of this neglect ? Are we reasonable in this, or 
are we not ? Hath the eternal God provided us such 
a glory, and promised to take us up to dwell with 
himself? and is not this worth thinking on ? Should 
not the strongest desires of our hearts be after it ? 
Do we believe this, and yet forget and neglect it ? 
If God will not give us leave to approach this light 



LIFE UPON EARTH. 273 

what mean all his earnest invitations ? Why doth 
he so condemn our earthly-mindedness, and com- 
mand us to set our affections on things above ? Ah, 
vile hearts ! If God were against it, w T e were like- 
lier to be for it ; but when he commands our hearts 
to heaven, then they will not stir one inch : like our 
predecessors, the sinful Israelites, when God would 
have them march for Canaan, then they mutiny, 
and will not stir; but when God bids them not 
go, then will they be presently marching. If God 
say, " Love not the w^orld, nor the things of the 
world," we dote upon it. Plow freely, how fre- 
quently can we think of our pleasures, our friends, 
our labors, our flesh, and its lusts ! yea, our wrongs 
and miseries, our fears and sufferings ! But where 
is the Christian whose heart is on his rest ? What 
is the matter ? Are we so full of joy that we need 
no more ? Or is there nothing in heaven for our 
joyous thoughts ? Or rather, are not our hearts car- 
nal and stupid ? Let us humble these sensual hearts, 
that have in them no more of Christ and glory. If 
this world was the only subject of our discourse, all 
would call us ungodly ; why, then, may we not call 
our hearts ungodly, that have so little delight in 
Christ and heaven ? 

But I am speaking only to those whose portion 
is in heaven, whose hopes are there, and who have 
forsaken all to enjoy this glory; and shall I be dis- 
couraged from persuading such to be heavenly- 



274 IMPORTANCE OF A HEAVENLY 

minded? Fellow-Christians, if you will not hear 
and obey, who will? Well may we be discouraged 
to exhort the blind, ungodly world, and may say, 
as Moses did, " Behold, the children of Israel 
have not hearkened unto me ; how then shall Pha- 
raoh hear me ?" I require thee, reader, as ever thou 
hopest for a part in this glory, that thou presently 
take thy heart to task, chide it for its willful strange- 
ness to God, turn thy thoughts from the pursuit of 
vanity, bend thy soul to study eternity, busy it about 
the life to come, habituate thyself to such contem- 
plations, and let not those thoughts be seldom and 
cursory, but bathe thy soul in heaven's delights ; 
and if thy backward soul begin to flag, and thy 
thoughts to scatter, call them back, hold them to their 
work, bear not with their laziness, nor connive at 
one neglect. And when thou hast, in obedience to 
God, tried this work, got acquainted with it, and 
kept a guard on thy thoughts till they are accus- 
tomed to obey, thou wilt then find thyself in the sub- 
urbs of heaven, and that there is, indeed, a sweet- 
ness in the work and way of God, and that the life 
of Christianity is a life of joy. Thou wilt meet 
with those abundant consolations which thou hast 
prayed, panted, and groaned after, and which so few 
Christians do ever here obtain, because they know 
not this way to them, or else make not conscience 
of walking in it. Say not, " We are unable to set 
our own hearts on heaven ; this must be the work 



LIFE UPON EARTH. 275 

of God only." Though God be the chief disposer 
of your hearts, yet, next under him, you have the 
greatest command of them yourselves. Though 
without Christ you can do nothing, yet under him 
you may do much, and must, or else it will be un- 
done, and yourselves undone through your neglect. 
Christians, if your souls were healthful and vigor- 
ous, they would perceive incomparably more delight 
and sweetness in the believing, joyful thoughts of 
your future blessedness, than the soundest stomach 
finds in its food, or the strongest senses in the en- 
joyment of their objects ; so little painful would 
this work be to you. But because I know, while 
we have flesh about us, and any remains of that 
"carnal mind which is enmity to God" and to this 
noble work, that all motives are little enough, I will 
here lay down some considerations, which, if you 
will deliberately weigh with an impartial judgment, 
I doubt not but they will prove effectual with your 
hearts, and make you resolve on this excellent du- 
ty. More particularly consider, it will evidence 
your. sincere piety; it is the highest excellence of 
the Christian temper ; it is the way to live most 
comfortably ; it will be the best preservative from 
temptations to sin ; it will enliven your graces and 
duties ; it will be your best cordial in all afflictions ; 
it will render you most profitable to others ; it will 
honor God : without it you will disobey the com- 
mands, and lose the most gracious and delightful 



276 IMPORTANCE OF A HEAVENLY 

discoveries of the word of God : it is also the more 
reasonable to have your hearts with God, as his is 
so much on you ; and in heaven, where you have so 
much interest and relation; besides, there is no- 
thing but heaven worth setting your hearts upon. 

1 . Consider, a heart set upon heaven will be one 
of the most unquestionable evidences of your since- 
rity, and a clear discovery of a true work of saving 
grace upon your souls. You are often asking, 
" How shall we know that we are truly sanctified ?" 
Here you have a sign infallible from the mouth of 
Jesus Christ himself: " where your treasure is, there 
will your hearts be also." God is the saints' trea- 
sure and happiness ; heaven is the place where they 
must fully enjoy him. A heart, therefore, set upon 
neaven, is a heart set upon God ; and surely, a heart 
set upon God, through Christ, is the truest evidence 
of saving grace. When learning will be no proof of 
grace ; when knowledge, duties, gifts, will fail ; when 
arguments from thy tongue or hand may be con- 
futed ; yet then will this, from the bent of thy heart, 
prove thee sincere. Take a poor Christian, of a 
weak understanding, a feeble memory, a stammering 
tongue ; yet his heart is set on God, he hath chosen 
him for his portion, his thoughts are on eternity, his 
desires are there ; he cries out, " O that I were 
there!" He takes that day for a time of imprison- 
ment, in which he hath not had one refreshing view 
of eternity. I had rather die in this man's condition, 



LIFE UPON EARTH. 277 

ihan in the case of him who hath the most eminent 
gifts, and is most admired for his performances, while 
his heart is not thus taken up with God. The man 
that Christ will find out at the last day, and con- 
demn for want of a " wedding garment,' 5 will be one 
that wants this frame of heart. The question will 
not then be, How much have you known, or pro- 
fessed, or talked? but, How much have you loved, 
and where was your heart? Christians, as you 
would have a proof of your title to glory, labor to 
get your hearts above. If sin and Satan keep not 
your affections from thence, they will never be able 
to keep away your persons. 

2. A heart in heaven is the highest excellence of 
Christian temper. As there is a common excellence, 
by which Christians differ from the world, so there 
i3 this peculiar dignity of spirit, by which the more 
excellent differ from the rest. As the noblest of crea- 
tures, so the noblest of Christians, are they whose 
faces are set most direct for heaven. Such a hea- 
venly saint, who hath been wrapped up to God in 
his contemplations, and is newly come down from 
the views of Christ, what discoveries will he make 
of those superior regions ! how high and sacred is 
his discourse ! enough to convince an understand - 
mg hearer that he hath seen the Lord, and that no 
«ian could speak such words, except he had been 
with God. This, this is the noble Christian. The 
most famous mountains and trees are those that 

c>\ Saints' Rest. 



2? 8 IMPORTANCE OF A HEAVENLY 

i 

reach nearest to heaven ; and he is the choicest 
Christian whose heart is most frequently and most 
delightfully there. If a man have lived near the 
king, or hath seen the Sultan of Persia, or the great 
Turk, he will be thought a step higher than his 
neighbors. What) then, shall we judge of him that 
daily travels as far as heaven, and there hath seen 
the King of kings, hath frequent admittance into the 
divine presence, and feasteth his soul upon the tree 
of life ? For my part, I value this man before the 
noblest, the richest, the most learned in the world. 

3. A heavenly mind is the nearest and truest way 
to a life of comfort. The countries far north are 
cold and frozen, because they are distant from the 
sun. What makes such frozen, uncomfortable Chris- 
tians, but their living so far from heaven? And 
what makes others so warm in comforts, but their 
living higher, and having nearer access to God? 
When the sun in the spring draws nearer to our 
part of the earth, how do all things congratulate its 
approach ! The earth looks green, the trees shoot 
forth, the plants revive, the birds sing, and all things 
smile upon us. If we would but try this life with 
God, and keep these hearts above, what a spring of 
joy would be within us ! How should we forget our 
winter sorrows ! How early should we rise to sing 
the praise of our great Creator ! O Christian, get 
above ! Those that have been there have found it 
warmer ; and I doubt not but thou hast sometime 



LIFE UPON EARTH. 279 

tried it thyself. When hast thou largest comforts ? 
Is it not when thou hast conversed with God, and 
talked with the inhabitants of the higher world, and 
viewed their mansions, and filled thy soul with the 
forethoughts of glory ? If thou knowest by experi- 
ence what this practice is, I dare say thou knowest 
what spiritual joy is. If, as David professes, " the 
light of God's countenance more gladdens the heart 
than corn and wine," then, surely, they that draw 
nearest, and most behold it, must be fullest of these 
joys. Whom should we blame, then, that we are so 
void of consolation, but our own negligent hearts ? 
God hath provided us a crown of glory, and pro- 
mised to set it shortly on our heads, and we will not 
so much as think of it. He bids us behold and re- 
joice, and we will not so much as look at it : and 
yet we complain for want of comfort. It is by be- 
lieving that we are " filled with joy and peace," and 
no longer than we continue believing. It is in hope 
the saints rejoice, and no longer than they continue 
hoping. God's Spirit worketh our comforts, by set- 
ting our own spirits at work upon the promises, and 
raising our thoughts to the place of our comforts. 
As you would delight a covetous man by showing 
him gold, so God delights his people by leading 
them, as it were, into heaven, and showing them 
himself, and their rest with him. He does not cast 
in our joys, while we are idle, or taken up with 
ether things. He gives the fruits of the earth, while 



: 



280 IMPORTANCE OF A HEAVENLY 

we plough, and sow, and weed, and water, and dres3, 
and with patience expect his blessing ; so doth he 
give the joys of the soul. I entreat thee, reader, in 
the name of the Lord, and as thou valuest the life of 
constant joy, and that good conscience which is a 
continual feast, to set upon this work seriously, and 
learn the art of heavenly-mindedness, and thou shalt 
find the increase a hundred fold, and the benefit 
abundantly exceed thy labor. But this is the misery 
of man's nature: though every man naturally hates 
sorrow, and loves the most merry and joyful life, 
yet few love the way to joy, or will endure the pains 
by which it is obtained ; they will take the next that 
comes to hand, and content themselves with earthly 
pleasures, rather than ascend to heaven to seek it ; 
and yet, when all is done, they must have it there, 
or be without it. 

4. A heart in heaven will be a most excellent 
preservative against temptations to sin. It will keep 
the heart well employed. When we are idle, we 
tempt the devil to tempt us; as careless persons 
make thieves. A heart in heaven can reply to the 
tempter, as Nehemiah did : " I am doing a great 
work, so that I cannot come." It hath no leisure 
to be lustful or wanton, ambitious or worldly. If 
you were but busy in your lawful callings, you 
would not be so ready to hearken to temptations ; 
much less if you were also busy above with God. 
Would a judge be persuaded to rise from the bench, 



LIFE UPON EARTH. 281 

when he is sitting upon life and death, to go and 
play with children in the streets 1 No more will a 
Christian, when he is taking a survey of his eternal 
rest, give ear to the alluring charms of Satan. The 
children of that kingdom should never have time for 
trifles, especially when they are employed in the 
affairs of the kingdom ; and this employment is one 
of the saints' chief preservatives from temptations. 

A heavenly mind is the freest from sin, because it 
hath truer and livelier apprehensions of spiritual 
things. He hath so deep an insight into the evil of 
sin, the vanity of the creature, the brutishness of 
fleshly, sensual delights, that temptations have little 
power over him. " In vain the net is spread," says 
Solomon, " in the sight of any bird." And usually 
in vain doth Satan lay his snares to entrap the soul 
that plainly sees them. Earth is the place for his 
temptations, and the ordinary bait : and how shall 
ihese insnare the Christian who hath left the earth, 
and walks with God ? Is converse with wise and 
J earned men the way to make one wise ? Much 
more is converse with God. If travelers return 
home with wisdom and experience, how much more 
he that travels to heaven ! If our bodies are suited 
to the air and climate we most live in, his under- 
standing must be fuller of light who lives with the 
Father of lights. The men of the world that dwell 
below, and know no other conversation but earthly, 
no wonder if their " understanding be darkened," 

s. r. 24* 



282 IMPORTANCE OF A HEAVENLY 

and Satan "take them captive at his will." How 
can worms and moles see, whose dwelling is always 
in the earth ? While this dust is in their eyes, no 
wonder they mistake gain for godliness, sin for 
grace, the world for God, their own wills for the 
law of Christ, and, in the issue, hell for heaven. 
But when a Christian withdraws himself from his 
worldly thoughts, and begins to converse with God 
in heaven, methinks he is, as Nebuchadnezzar, ta- 
ken from the beasts of the field to the throne, and 
" his reason returneth unto him." When he hath 
had a glimpse of eternity, and looks down on the 
world again, how doth he charge with folly his neg- 
lects of Christ, his fleshly pleasures, his earthly 
cares ! How doth he say of his laughter, It is mad ; 
and of his vain mirth, What doth it ? How doth he 
verily think there is no man in Bedlam so truly 
mad as willful sinners, and unworthy slighter s of 
Christ and glory ! This makes a dying man usu- 
ally wiser than others, because he looks on eternity 
as near, and hath more heart-piercing thoughts of it 
than he ever had in health and prosperity. Then 
many of the most bitter enemies of the saints have 
their eyes opened, and, like Balaam, cry out, " O 
that I might die the death of the righteous, and that 
my last end might be like his !" Yet let the samo 
men recover, and lose their apprehensions of the life 
to come, and how quickly do they lose their under- 
standing with it ! Tell a dying sinner of the riches 



LIFE UPON EARTH. 283 

honors, or pleasures of the world, and would he not 
answer, " What is all this to me, who must presently 
appear before God, and give an account of all my 
life?" Christian, if the apprehended nearness of 
eternity will work such strange effects upon the un- 
godly, and make them so much wiser than before, 
O what rare effects would it produce in thee, if thou 
couldst always dwell in the views of God, and in 
lively thoughts of thy everlasting state ! Surely a 
believer, if he improve his faith, may ordinarily have 
more quickening apprehensions of the life to come, 
in the time of his health, than an unbeliever hath at 
the hour of his death. 

A heavenly mind is also fortified against tempta- 
tions, because the affections are thoroughly prepos- 
sessed with the high delights of another world. He 
that loves most, and not he that only knows most, 
will most easily resist the motions of sin. The will 
doth as sweetly relish goodness, as the understand- 
ing doth truth ; and here lies much of a Christian's 
strength. When thou hast had a fresh, delightful 
taste of heaven, thou wilt not be so easily persuad- 
ed from it. You cannot persuade a child to part 
with his sweetmeats while the taste is in his mouth. 
O that you would be much in feeding on the hidden 
manna, and frequently tasting the delights of hea- 
ven ! How would this confirm thy resolutions, and 
make thee despise the fooleries of the world, and 
scorn to be cheated with such childish toys. If the 



284 IMPORTANCE OF A HEAVENLY 

devil had set upon Peter in the mount of transfigu- 
ration, when he saw Moses and Elias talking with 
Christ, would he so easily have been drawn to deny 
his Lord ? What ! with all that glory in his eye ? 
No. So if he should set upon a believing soul, 
when he is taken up in the mount with Christ, 
what would such a soul say ? " Get thee behind me, 
Satan ; wouldst thou persuade me hence with tri- 
fling pleasures, and steal my heart from this my 
rest ? Wouldst thou have me sell these joys for no- 
thing ? Is any honor or delight like this ? or can 
that be profit, for which I must lose this ?" Bui Sa- 
tan stays till we are come down, and the taste of 
heaven is out of our mouths, and the glory we saw 
is even forgotten, and then he easily deceives our 
hearts. Though the Israelites below, eat and drink, 
and rise up to play before their idol, Moses in the 
mount will not do so. O, if we could keep the taste 
of our souls continually delighted with the sweet- 
ness above, with what disdain should we spit out 
the baits of sin ! 

Besides, whilst the heart is set on heaven, a man 
is under God's protection. If Satan then assault us, 
God is more engaged for our defence, and will 
doubtless stand by us and say, " My grace is suffi- 
cient for thee." When a man is in the way of 
God's blessing, he is in the less danger of sin's en- 
ticing. Amidst thy temptations, Christian reader, 
use much this powerful remedy ; keep close with 



LIFE UPON EARTH. 285 

God by a heavenly mind; follow your business 
above with Christ, and you will find this a surer 
help than any other. " The way of life is above to 
the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath. 5 ' 
Remember that " Noah was a just man, and per- 
fect in his generation f for he "walked with God;" 
and that God said to Abraham, " Walk before me, 
and be thou perfect." 

5. The diligent keeping your hearts in heaven 
will maintain the vigor of all your graces, and put 
life into all your duties. The heavenly Christian 
is the lively Christian. It is our strangeness to 
heaven that makes us so dull. How will the sol- 
dier hazard his life, and the mariner pass through 
storms and waves, \ an<J no difficulty keep them 
back, when they think of an uncertain, perishing 
treasure ! What life, then, would it put into a 
Christian's endeavors, if he would frequently think 
of his everlasting treasure ! We run so slowly, and 
strive so lazily, because we so little mind the prize. 
Observe but the man who is much in heaven, and 
you shall see he is not like other Christians ; some- 
thing of what he hath seen above appeareth in all 
his duty and conversation. If a preacher, how 
heavenly are his sermons ! If a private Christian, 
what heavenly converse, prayers, and deportment ! 
Set upon this employment, and others will see the 
face of your conversation shine, and say, Surely he 
hath been " with God on the mount." But if you 



286 IMPORTANCE OF A HEAVENLY 

lie, complaining of deadness and dullness ; that yov 1 
cannot love Christ, nor rejoice in his love ; that you 
have no life in prayer, nor any other duty, and yet 
neglect this quickening employment ; you are the 
cause of your own complaints. Is not thy life hid 
with Christ in God ? Where must thou go but to 
Christ for it ? And where is that, but to heaven, 
" where Christ is ? Thou wilt not come to Christ, 
that thou may st have life." If thou wouldst have 
light and heat, why art thou no more in the sun- 
shine ? For want of this recourse to heaven, thy 
soul is as a lamp not lighted, and thy duties as a 
sacrifice without fire. Fetch one coal daily from 
this altar, and see if thy offering will not burn. 
Light thy lamp at this flame, and feed it daily with 
oil from hence, and see if it will not gloriously 
shine. Keep close to this reviving fire, and see if 
thy affections will not be warm. In thy want of 
love to God, lift up thy eye of faith to heaven, be- 
hold his beauty, contemplate his excellencies, and 
see whether his amiableness and perfect goodness 
will not ravish thy heart. As exercise gives appe- 
tite, strength, and vigor to the bodv. so these hea- 
venly exercises will quickly cause the increase of 
grace and spiritual life. Besides, it is not false or 
strange fire which you fetch from heaven for your 
sacrifices: the zeal which is kindled by your medi- 
tations on heaven, is most likely to be a heavenly 
zeal. Some men's fervency is only draw;j from 



LIFE UPON EARTH. 287 

their books, some from the sharpness of affliction, 
some from the mouth of a moving minister, and 
some from the attention of an auditory ; but he that 
knows this way to heaven, and derives it daily from 
the true fountain, shall have his soul revived with 
the water of life, and enjoy that quickening which 
is peculiar to the saints. "By this faith thou mayst 
offer Abel's sacrifice, more excellent than" that of 
common men, and " by it obtain witness that thou 
art righteous, God testifying of thy gifts" that they 
are sincere. When others are ready, like Baal's 
priests, to "cut themselves," because their sacrifice 
will not burn, thou mayst breathe the spirit of Eli- 
jah, and in the chariot of contemplation soar aloft, 
till thy soul and sacrifice gloriously flame, though 
the flesh and the world should cast upon them all 
the water of their opposing enmity. Say not, How 
can mortals ascend to heaven ? Faith hath wings, 
and meditation is its chariot. Faith is as a burning 
glass to thy sacrifice, and meditation sets it to the 
face of the sun ; only take it not away too soon, but 
hold it there awhile, and thy soul will feel the 
happy effect. Reader, art thou not thinking, when 
thou seest a lively Christian, and hearest his lively, 
fervent prayers, and edifying discourse, " O how 
happy a man is this ! O that my soul were in this 
blessed condition !" Why, I here advise thee, from 
God, set thy soul conscientiously to this work, wash 
thee frequently in this Jordan, and thy leprous, dead 



288 IMPORTANCE OF A HEAVENLY 

soul will revive, " and thou slialt know that there m 
a God in Israel," and that thou mayst live a vigor- 
ous and joyful life, if thou dost not willfully neglect 
thy own mercies. 

6. The frequent believing views of glory art the 
most precious cordials in all afflictions. These cor- 
dials, by cheering our spirits, render our sufferings 
far more easy, enable us to bear them with patience 
and joy, and so strengthen our resolutions, that we 
forsake not Christ for fear of trouble. If the way 
be ever so rough, can it be tedious, if it lead to 
heaven? O sweet sickness, reproaches, imprison- 
ments, or death, accompanied with these tastes of 
our future rest ! This keeps the suffering from the 
soul, so that it can only touch the flesh. Had it 
not been for that little (alas ! too little) taste which I 
had of rest, my sufferings would have been grievous, 
and death more terrible. I may say, " I had faint- 
ed, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the 
Lord in the land of the living." Unless this pro- 
mised rest " had been my delight, I should then have 
perished in mine affliction. One thing have I de- 
sired of the Lord, that will I seek after ; that I may 
dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my 
life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to in- 
quire in his temple. For in the time of trouble he 
shall hide me in his pavilion; in the secret of his 
tabernacle shall he hide me ; he shall set me upon a 
rock. And now shall mine head be lifted up above 



LIVE UPON EARTH. 2£9 

outre enemies round about me. Therefore will I 
offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy ; I will sing, 
vea, I will sing praises unto the Lord." All suffer- 
ings are nothing to us, so far as we have these sup- 
porting joys. When persecution and fear hath shut 
the doors, Christ can come in, and stand in the 
midst, and say to his disciples, " Peace be unto you." 
Paul and Silas can be in heaven, even when they 
are thrust into the inner prison, their bodies scourged 
with " many stripes, and their feet fast in the stocks." 
The martyrs find more rest in their flames, than 
their persecutors in their pomp and tyranny; be- 
cause they foresee the flames they escape, and the 
rest which their fiery chariot is conveying them to. 
If the Son of God will walk with us, we are safe in 
the midst of those flames which shall devour them 
that cast us in. Abraham went out of his country, 
not knowing whither he went ; because he looked 
for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and 
maker is God. Moses esteemed the reproach of 
Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt ; 
because he had respect unto the recompense of re- 
ward. He forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of 
the king ; because he endured as seeing Him who 
is invisible. Others were tortured, not accepting 
deliverance, that they might obtain a better resur- 
rection. Even Jesus, the author and finisher of 
our faith, for the joy that was set before him, en- 
dured the cross, despising the shame, and is set 

05 Saints' Rest. 



290 IMPORTANCE OF A HEAVENLY 

down at the right hand of the throne of God. This 
is the noble advantage of faith ; it can look on 
the means and end together. This is the great 
reason of our impatience and censuring of God, 
because Ave gaze on the evil itself, but fix. not our 
thoughts on what is beyond it. They that saw 
Christ only on the cross, or in the grave, do shake 
their heads and think him lost ; but God saw him 
dying, buried, rising, glorified ; and all this at one 
view T . Faith will, in this, imitate God, so far as it 
hath the glass of a promise to help it. We see 
God burying us under ground, but we foresee not 
the spring, when we shall all revive. Could we 
but clearly see heaven, as the end of all God's deal- 
ings with us, surely none of his dealings could be 
grievous. If God would once raise us to this life, 
we should find, that though heaven and sin are at a 
great distance ; yet, heaven and a prison, or banish- 
ment ; heaven and the belly of a whale, or a den of 
lions ; heaven and consuming sickness, or invading 
death, are at no such distance. But as "Abraham 
saw Christ's day and rejoiced," so we, in our most 
forlorn state, might see that day when Christ shall 
give us rest, and therein rejoice. I beseech thee, 
Christian, for the honor of the Gospel, and for thy 
soul's comfort, leave not this heavenly art to be 
learned when, in thy greatest extremity, thou hast 
most need to use it. He that, with Stephen, " sees 
the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right 



LIFE UPON EARTH. 291 

hand of God," will comfortably bear the shower of 
stones. " The joy of the Lord is our strength," 
and that joy must be drawn from the place of our 
joy; and if we walk without our strength, how long 
are we like to endure ? 

7. He whose conversation is in heaven, is the pro- 
fitable Christian to all about him. When a man is 
in a strange country, how glad is he of the compa- 
ny of one of his own nation ! how delightful is it 
to talk of. their own country, their acquaintance, 
and affairs at home ! With what pleasure did Jo- 
seph talk with his brethren, and inquire after his 
father and his brother Benjamin ! Is it not so to a 
Christian, to talk with his brethren that have been 
above, and inquire after his Father, and Christ his 
Lord ? When a worldly man will talk of nothing 
but the world, and a politician of state affairs, and a 
mere scholar of human learning, and a common pro- 
fessor of his duties ; the heavenly man will be speak- 
ing of heaven, and the strange glory his faith hath 
seen, and our speedy and blessed meeting there. 
O how refreshing and useful are his expressions ! 
How his words pierce and melt the heart, and trans- 
form the hearers into other men ! How doth his 
" doctrine drop as the rain, and his speech distil as 
the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and 
as the showers upon the grass, while his lips pub- 
lish the name of the Lord, and ascribe greatness 
unto his God !" His sweet discourse of heaven is 



292 IMPORTANCE OF A HEAVENLY 

like the " box of precious ointment, 7 ' which, being 
" poured upon the head of Christ, filled the house. 
with the odor." All that are near may be refreshed 
by it. Happy the people that have a heavenly min- 
ister ! Happy the children and servants that have a 
heavenly father or master! Happy the man that 
hath a heavenly companion, who will watch over 
thy ways, strengthen thee when thou art weak, 
cheer thee when thou art drooping, and " comfort 
thee- with the comfort wherewith he himself" hath 
been so often comforted of God ! This is he that 
will always be blowing at the spark of thy spiritual 
life, and drawing thy soul to God, and will say to 
thee, as the Samaritan woman, " Come and see one 
that hath told me all that ever I did ;" one that hath 
loved our souls to the death. " Is not this the Christ V 7 
Is not " the knowledge of God and him eternal life ?" 
Is it not the glory of the saints to see his glory ? 
Come to this man's house and sit at his table, and he 
will feast thy soul with the dainties of heaven ; travel 
with him by the way, and he will direct and quicken 
thee in thy journey to heaven ; trade with him in 
the world, and he will counsel thee to buy " the pearl 
of great price." If thou wrong him, he can pardon 
thee, remembering that Christ hath pardoned his 
greater offences. If thou be angry, he is meek, consi- 
dering the meekness of his heavenly Pattern ; or, if he 
fall out with you, he is soon reconciled, when he recol- 
lects that in heaven you must be everlasting friends. 



LIFE UPON EARTH. 293 

This is the Christian of the right stamp, and all about 
him are better for him. How unprofitable is the so- 
ciety of all other sorts of Christians, in comparison 
with this ! If a man should come from heaven, how 
would men long to hear what reports he would make 
of the other world, and what he had seen, and what 
the blessed there enjoy ! Would they not think this 
man the best companion, and his discourses the most 
profitable ? Why, then, do you value the company of 
saints no more, and inquire no more of them, and 
relish their discourse no better ? For eyery saint 
shall go to heaven in person, and is frequently there 
m spirit, and hath often viewed it in the glass of the 
Gospel. For my part, I had rather have the com- 
pany of a heavenly-minded Christian, than that of 
the most learned disputants ox princely commanders. 
8. No man so highly honoreth God, as he whose 
conversation is in heaven. Is not a parent disgraced 
when his children feed on husks, are clothed in rags, 
and keep company with none but rogues and beg- 
gars ? Is it not so to our heavenly Father, when we, 
who call ourselves his children, feed on earth, and 
the garb of our souls is like that of the world; and 
our hearts familiarly converse with, and " cleave to 
the dust," rather than stand continually in our Fa- 
ther's presence 1 Surely we live below the children 
of the King, not according to the height of our 
hopes, nor the provision of our Father's house, and 
the great preparations made for his saints. It is 

8. R. 25* 



294 IMPORTANCE OF A HEAVENLY 

well we have a Father of tender pity, who will 
own his children in rags. If he did not first chal- 
lenge his interest in us, neither ourselves nor others 
could know us to be his people. Bat when a Chris- 
tian can live above, and rejoice his soul with the 
things that are unseen, how is God honored by such 
a one ! The Lord will testify for him : This man 
believes me, and takes me at my word ; he rejoices 
in my promise before he has possession ; he can be 
thankful for what his bodily eyes never saw ; his 
rejoicing is not in the flesh ; his heart is with me ; 
he loves my presence, and he shall surely enjoy it 
in my kingdom for ever. " Blessed are they that 
have not seen, and yet have believed. Them that 
honor me, I will honor." How did God esteem him- 
self honored by Caleb and Joshua, when they went 
into the promised land, and brought back to their 
brethren a taste of the fruits, and spake well of the 
good land, and encouraged the people ! What a pro- 
mise and recompense did they receive ! 

9. A soul that does not set its affections on things 
above, disobeys the commands, and loses the most gra* 
cious and delightful discoveries of the word of God m 
The same God that hath commanded thee to believe, 
and to be a Christian, hath commanded thee to " seek 
those things which are above, where Christ sitteth 
©n the right hand of God : and to set our affections 
on things above, not on things on the earth." The 
same God that has forbidden thee to murder, steal, 



LIFE L'PON EARTH. 295 

or commit adultery, has forbidden thee the neglect 
of this great duty ; and darest thou willfully disobey 
him ? Why not make conscience of one as well as 
the other ? He hath made it thy duty, as well as the 
means of thy comfort, that a double bond may en- 
gage thee not to forsake thy own mercies. Besides, 
what are all the most glorious descriptions of hea- 
ven, all those discoveries of our future blessedness, 
and precious promises of our rest, but lost to thee ? 
Are not these the stars in the firmament of Scripture, 
and the golden lines in that book of God? Methinks 
thou shouldst not part with one of these promises, 
no, not for a world. As heaven is the perfection of 
all our mercies, so the promises of it in the Gospel 
are the very soul of the Gospel. Is a comfortable 
word from the mouth of God of such worth, that all 
the comforts in the world are nothing to it? And 
dost thou neglect and overlook so many of them ? 
Why should God reveal so much of his counsel, and 
tell us beforehand of the joys we shall possess, but 
to make us know it for our joy ? If it had not been 
to fill us with the delights of our foreknown blessed- 
ness, he might have kept his purpose to himself, and 
never have let us known it till we came to enjoy it 
Yea, when we had got possession of our rest, he 
might still have concealed its eternity from us, and 
then the fears of losing it would have diminished the 
sweetness of our joys. But it hath pleased our Fa- 
ther to open his counsel, and let us know the very 



296 IMPORTANCE OF A HEAVENLY 

intent of his heart, that our joy might be full, and 
that we might live as the heirs of such a kingdom. 
And shall we now overlook all ? Shall we live in 
earthly cares and sorrows, and rejoice no more in 
these discoveries, than if the Lord had never wrote 
them ? If thy prince had but sealed thee a patent ol 
some lordship, how oft wouldst thou cast thy eyes 
upon it, and make it thy delightful study, till thou 
shouldst come to possess the dignity itself! And 
hath God sealed thee a patent of heaven, and dost 
thou let it lie by thee, as if thou hadst forgot it ? O 
that our hearts were as high as our hopes, and our 
hopes as high as these infallible promises ! 

10. It is but equal that our hearts should be on 
God, when the heart of God is so much on us. If 
the Lord of glory can stoop so low as to set his heart 
on sinful dust, methinks we should easily be per- 
suaded to set our hearts on Christ and glory, and 
ascend to him in our daily affections, who so much 
condescends to us. Christian, dost thou not perceive 
that the heart of God is set upon thee, and that he 
is still minding thee with tender love, even when 
thou forgettest both thyself and him ? Is he not fol- 
lowing thee with daily mercies, moving upon thy 
soul, providing for thy body, preserving both ? Doth 
he not bear thee continually 'in the a rms of love, and 
promise that " all shall work together for thy good," 
and suit all his dealings to thy greatest advantage, 
and " give his angels charge over thee ?" And canst 



LIFE UPON EARTH. 297 

thou be taken up with the joys below, and forget thy 
Lord, who forgets not thee ? Unkind ingratitude ! 
When he speaks of his own kindness for us, hear 
what he says : " Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken 
me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman 
forget her sucking child, that she should not have 
compassion on the son of her womb % Yea, she may 
forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have 
graven thee upon the palms of my hands ; thy walls 
are continually before me." But when he speaks of 
our regards to him, the case is otherwise. " Can a 
maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire % 
Yet my people have forgotten me, days without 
number." As if he should say, " You will not rise 
one morning, but you will remember to cover your 
nakedness, nor forget your vanity of dress ; and are 
these of more worth than your God % of more im- 
portance than your eternal life ? And yet you can 
forget these, day after day." Give not God cause 
thus to expostulate with us. Rather let our souls 
get up to God, and visit him every morning, and our 
hearts be towards him every moment. 

1 1. Our interest in heaven, and our relation to it, 
should continually keep our hearts upon it. There 
our Father keeps his court. We call him " Our 
Father, who art in heaven." Unworthy children, 
that can be so taken up in their play, as to be mind- 
less of such a Father. There also is Christ, our 
head, our husband, our life ; and shall we not look 



298 IMPORTANCE OF A HEAVENLY 

towards him, and send to him as oft as we can, till 
we come to see him face to face ? Since " the heavens 
must receive him until the times of the restitution of 
all tilings," let them also receive our hearts with 
him. There also is " New Jerusalem, which is the 
mother of us all." And there are multitudes of our 
elder brethren. There are our friends and old ac- 
quaintance, whose society in the flesh we so much 
delighted in, and whose departure hence we so much 
lamented ; and is this not attractive to thy thoughts 1 
If they were within thy reach on earth, thou wouldst 
go and visit them ; and why not oftener visit them 
in spirit, and rejoice beforehand to think of meeting 
them there ? " Socrates rejoiced that he should die, 
because he believed he should see Homer, Hesiod, 
and other eminent persons. How much more do I 
rejoice, said a pious old minister, who am sure to see 
Christ my Savior, the eternal Son of God, in his as- 
sumed flesh ; besides so many wise, holy, and re- 
nowned patriarchs, prophets, apostles," &c. A be- 
liever should look to heaven, and contemplate the 
blessed state of the saints, and think with himself, 
" Though I am not yet so happy as to be with you, 
yet this is my daily comfort, — you are my breth ren 
and fellow-members in Christ, and therefore your 
joys are my joys, and your glory, by this near rela- 
tion, is my glory ; especially while I believe in the 
same Christ, and hold fast the same faith and obedi- 
ence by which you were thus dignified, and rejoice 



LIFE UPON EARTH. 299 

in spirit with you, and congratulate your happiness 
in my daily meditations." 

Moreover, our house and home is above. " For 
we know that if our earthly house of this taberna- 
cle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a 
house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." 
Why do we then look no often er towards it, and 
44 groan earnestly, desiring to be clothed upon with 
our house which is from heaven ?" If our home 
were far meaner, sure we should remember it, be- 
cause it is our home. If vou were but banished 
into a strange land, how frequently would your 
thoughts be at home! And why is it not thus with 
us in respect to heaven % Is not that more truly and 
properly our home, where we must take up our 
everlasting abode, than this, which we are every 
hour expecting to be separated from, and to see no 
more 1 We are strangers, and that is our country. 
We are heirs, and that is our inheritance; even "an 
inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth 
not away, reserved in heaven for us." We are 
here in continual distress and want, and there lies 
our substance; even "a better and an enduring sub- 
stance." Yea, the very hope of our souls is there ; 
all our hope of relief from our distresses ; all our 
hope of happiness, when here we are miserable ; all 
this " hope is laid up for us in heaven." Why, be- 
loved Christians, have we so much interest, and so 
few thoughts there ? so near relation, and so little 



300 IMPORTANCE OF A HEAVENLY 

affection ? Doth it become us to be delighted in the 
company of strangers, so as to forget our Father and 
our Lord ? or to be so well pleased with those that 
hate and grieve us, as to forget our best and dearest 
friends; or to be so fond of borrowed trifles, as to 
forget our own possession and treasure? or to be so 
much impressed with fears and wants, as to forge! 
our eternal joy and rest? God usually pleads hia 
property in us; and thence concludes he will do 119 
good, even because we are his own people, whom 
he hath chosen out of all the world. Why then do 
we not plead our interest in him, and so raise out 
hearts above; even because he is our own God, and 
because the place is our own possession ? Men com- 
monly overlove and overvalue their own things, and 
mind them too much. O that we could mind our 
own inheritance, and value it half as much as it 
deserves. 

12. Once more consider, there is nothing but hea- 
ren worth setting our hearts upon. If God have 
them not, who shall? If thou mind not thy rest, 
what wilt thou mind ? Hast thou found out some 
other god; or something that will serve thee instead 
of rest ? Hast thou found on earth an eternal happi- 
ness ? Where is it ? What is it made of? Who was 
the man that found it out ? Who was he that last 
enjoyed it ? Where dwelt he ? What was his name % 
Or art thou the first that ever discovered heaven on 
earth ? Ah, wretch ! trust not to thy discoveries ; 



LIFE UPON EARTH. 301 

boast not of thy gam, till experience bid thee boast. 
Disquiet not thyself in looking for that which is not 
on earth, lest thou learn thy experience with the loss 
of thy soul, which thou mightest have learned on 
easier terms ; even by the warnings of God in his 
word, and the loss of thousands of souls before thee. 
If Satan should " take thee up to the mountain of 
temptation, and show thee all the kingdoms of the 
world, and glory of them,'' he could show thee no- 
thing that is worthy thy thoughts, much less to be 
preferred before thy rest. Indeed, so far as duty and 
necessity require it, we must be content to mind the 
things below ; but who is he that contains himself 
within the compass of those limits % And yet, if we 
ever so diligently contract our cares and thoughts, 
we shall find the least to be bitter and burdensome. 
Christian, see the emptiness of all these things, and 
the preciousness of the things above. If thy thoughts 
should, like the laborious bee, go over the world 
from flower to flower, from creature to creature, 
they would bring no honey or sweetness home, 
save what they gathered from their relations to 
eternity. Though every truth of God is precious, 
and ought to be defended ; yet even all our study of 
truth should be still in reference to our rest ; for the 
observation is too true, u that the lovers of contro- 
versies in religion have never been warmed with 
one spark of the love of God." And as for minding 
the " affairs of church and state ;" so far as they il- 

9^ Sniuts' Rest. 



302 IMPORTANCE OF A HEAVENLY LIFE. 

lustrate the providence of God, and tend to the set- 
tling of the Gospel and the government of Christ, 
and consequently to the saving of our own souls and 
those of our posterity, they are well worth our dili- 
gent observation ; but these are only their relations 
to eternity. Even all our dealings in the world, our 
buying and selling,, our eating and drinking, our 
building and marrying, our peace and war, so far 
as they relate not to the life to come, but tend only 
to the pleasing of the flesh, are not worthy the fre- 
quent thoughts of a Christian. And now, doth not 
thy conscience say that there is nothing but heaven, 
and the way to it, that is worth thy minding ? 

Now, reader, are these considerations weighty or 
not ? Have I proved it thy duty to keep thy heart 
on things above, or have I not? If thou say, Not, 
I am confident thou contradictest thy own con- 
science. If thou acknowledge thyself convinced of 
the duty, that very tongue of thine shall condemn 
thee, and that confession be pleaded against thee, if 
thou willfully neglect such a confessed duty. Be 
thoroughly willing, and the work is more than half 
done. I have now a few plain directions to give 
you for your help in this great work ; but, alas ! it 
is in vain to mention them, except you be willing to 
put them into practice. However, I will propose 
them to thee, and may the Lord persuade thy heart 
to the work ! 



HOW TO LEAD A HEAVENLY LIFE. 303 

CHAPTER XII. 

DIRECTIONS HOW TO LEAD A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 

L The hinder ances to a heavenly life : 1. Living in any known 
sin ; 2. An earthly mind ; 3. Ungodly companions ; 4. A 
notional religion; 5. A haughty spirit : 6. A slothful spirit ; 
7. Resting in Reparatives for a heavenly life, icithout the 
thing itself. II. The duties which vjUI promote a heavenly 
life : I. Be convinced that heaven is the only treasure and 
happiness ; 2. Labor to know your interest in it ; 3. And 
how near it is ; 4. Frequently and seriously talk of it ; 5. 
Endeavor, in every duty, to raise your affections nearer to 
it ; 6. To the same purpose improve every object and event ; 
7. Be much in the angelical work of praise ; 8. Possess your 
souls with believing thoughts of the infinite love of God ; 9. 
Carefully observe and cherish the motions of the Spirit of 
God : 10. Nor even neglect the due care of your bodily health. 

As thou valuest the comforts of a heavenly con- 
versation, I must here charge thee, from God, to 
avoid carefully some dangerous hinderances ; and 
then faithfully and diligently to practice such duties 
as will especially assist thee in attaining to a hea- 
venly life. 

First. Let us consider those hinderances which 
are to be avoided with all possible care. 

1. Living" in any known sin, is a grand impedi- 
ment to a heavenly conversation. What havoc will 
this make in thy soul ! O the joys that this hath de- 
stroyed ! the ruin it hath made amongst men's graces ! 



304 HOW TO LEAD A HEAVENLY 

the soul-strengthening duties it hath hindered ! 
Christian reader, art thou one that hast used violence 
with thy conscience ? Art thou a willful neglecter 
of known duties, either public, private, or secret? 
Art thou a slave to thine appetite, or to any other 
commanding sense? Art thou a proud seeker of 
thine own esteem? Art thou a peevish and passion- 
ate person, ready to take fire at every word, or look, 
or supposed slight? Art thou a deceiver of others 
in thy dealings, or one that will be rich, right or 
wrong ? If this be thy case, I dare say heaven and 
thy soul are very great strangers. These beams in 
thine eyes will not suffer thee to look to heaven ; 
they will be " a cloud between thee and thy God." 
When thou dost but attempt to study eternity, and 
gather comforts from the life to come, thy sin will 
presently look thee in the face, and say, " These 
things belong not to thee. How shouklst thou take 
comfort from heaven, who takest so much pleasure 
in the lusts of the flesh?" How will this damp thy 
joys, and make the thoughts of that day and state 
become thy trouble, and not thy delight ! Every 
willful sin will be to thy comforts as water to the 
fire ; when thou thinkest to quicken them, this will 
quench them. It will utterly indispose and disable 
thee, that thou canst no more ascend in divine me 
ditation, than a bird can fly when its wings are clip 
ped. Sin cuts the very sinews of this heavenly life. 
O man ! what a life dost thou lose ! What daily de- 



LIFE UPON EARTH. 305 

lights dost thou sell for vile lust ! If heaven and hell 
can meet together, and God become a lover of sin, 
then mayst thou live in thy sin, and in fore-tastes of 
glory ; and have a conversation in heaven, though 
ihou cherish thy corruption. And take heed lest it 
banish thee from heaven, as it does thy heart. And 
though thou be not guilty, and knowest no reigning 
sin in thy soul, think what a sad thing it would be, 
if ever this should prove thy case. Watch, therefore; 
especially resolve to keep from the occasions of sin, 
and out of the way of temptations. What need have 
we daily to pray, " Lead us not into temptation, but 
deliver us from evil !" 

2. An earthly mind is another hinderance care- 
fully to be avoided. God and mammon, earth and 
heaven, cannot both have the delight of thy heart. 
When the heavenly believer is blessing himself in 
his God, and rejoicing in hope of the glory to come : 
perhaps thou art blessing thyself in thy worldly pros- 
perity, and rejoicing in hope of thy thriving here. 
When he is comforting his soul in the views of 
Christ, of angels, and saints, whom he shall live with 
for ever ; then thou art comforting thyself with thy 
wealth, in looking over thy bills and bonds, thy 
goods, thy cattle, or thy buildings, and in thinking 
of the favor of the great, of the pleasure of a plentiful 
estate, of larger provisions for thy children after thee, 
of the advancement of thy family, or the increase of 
thy dependants. If Christ pronounced him a fool 

s. r. 26* 



306 HOW TO LEAD A HEAVENLY 

that said, "Soul, take thy ease; thou hast enough 
laid up for many years j" how much more so art 
thou, who, knowingly, speakest in thy heart the 
same words ! Tell me, what difference between this 
fool's expressions and thy affections % Remember 
thou hast to do with the Searcher of hearts. Certain- 
ly, so much as thou delightest, and takest up thy rest 
on earth, so much of thy delight in God is abated. 
Thine earthly mind may consist with thy outward 
profession and common duties, but it cannot consist 
with this heavenly duty. Thou thyself kno west how 
seldom and cold, how cursory and reserved, thy 
thoughts have been of the joys above, ever since thou 
didst trade so eagerly for the world. O the cursed 
madness of many that seem to be religious ! They 
thrust themselves into a multitude of employments, 
till they are so loaded with labors, and clogged with 
cares, that their souls are as unfit to converse with 
God, as a man to walk with a mountain on his back ; 
and as unapt to soar in meditation, as their bodies to 
leap above the sun ! And when they have lost that 
heaven upon earth which they might have had, they 
take up with a few rotten arguments to prove it 
lawful ; though, indeed, they cannot. I advise thee, 
Christian, who hast tasted the pleasures of a heavenly 
life, if ever thou wouldst taste of them any more, 
avoid this devouring gulf of an earthly mind . If once 
thou come to this, that thou " wilt be rich,' 1 thou fair- 
est into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish 



LIFE UPON EARTH. 307 

and hurtful lusts." Keep these things loose about 
ihee, like thy upper garments, that thou mayest lay 
them by whenever there is need; but let God and 
glory be next thy heart. Ever remember that " the 
friendship of the world is enmity with God. Whoso- 
ever, therefore, will be a friend of the world, is the 
enemy of God." " Love not the world, neither the 
things that are in the world. If any man love the 
world, the love of the Father is not in him." This 
is plain dealing, and happy he that faithfully re- 
ceives it ! 

3. Beware of the company of the ungodly. Not 
that I would dissuade thee from necessary converse, 
or from doing them any office of love ; especially not 
from endeavoring the good of their souls, as long as 
thou hast any opportunity or hope ; nor would I have 
thee to conclude them to be dogs and swine, in order 
to evade the duty of reproof ; nor even to judge them 
such at all, as long as there is any hope for the better ; 
much less can I approve of their practice, who con- 
clude men dogs or swine before ever they faithfully 
and lovingly admonish them, or perhaps before they 
have known them, or spoken with them. But it is 
the unnecessary society of ungodly men, and too 
much familiarity with unprofitable companions, that 
I dissuade you from. Not only the open profane, 
the swearer, the drunkard, and the enemies of god- 
liness will prove hurtful companions to us — though 
these indeed are chiefly to be avoided ; but too fre- 



308 HOW TO LEAD A HEAVENLY 

quent society with persons merely civil and moral, 
whose conversation is empty and unedifyi ng, may 
much divert our thoughts from heaven. Our back- 
wardness is such, that we need the most constant 
and powerful helps. A stone or a clod is as fit to 
rise and fly in the air, as our hearts are naturally t* 1 
move toward heaven. You need not hinder the rocks 
from flying- up to the sky ; it is sufficient that you 
do not help them ; and surely, if our spirits have 
not great assistance, they may easily be kept from 
soaring upward, though they should never meet 
with the least impediment. O think of this in the 
choice of your company ! When your spirits are so 
disposed for heaven that you need no help to lift them 
up, but, as flames, you are always mounting, and 
carrying with you all that is in your way, then, in- 
deed, you may be less careful of your company ; but, 
till then, as you love the delights of a heavenly life, 
be careful herein. What will it advantage thee in a 
divine life, to hear how the market goes, or what the 
weather is, or is likely to be, or what news is stir- 
ring % This is the discourse of earthly men. What 
will it conduce to the raising thy heart God-ward, 
to hear that this is an able minister, or that an emi- 
nent Christian, or this an excellent sermon, or that 
an excellent book ; or to hear some difficult, but un- 
important controversy ? Yet this, for the most part, 
is the sweetest discourse thou art like to have from 
a formal, speculative, dead-hearted professor. Nay, 



LIFE UPON EARTH. 309 

if thou hadst newly been warming thy heart in the 
contemplation of the blessed joys above, would not 
this discourse benumb thy affections, and quickly 
freeze thy heart again ? I appeal to the judgment of 
any man that hath tried it, and maketh observations 
on the frame of his spirit. Men cannot well talk of 
one thing and mind another, especially things of 
such different natures. You, young men, who are 
most liable to this temptation, think seriously of what 
I say ; can you have your hearts in heaven, among 
your roaring companions, in an alehouse or tavern? 
or when you work in your shops with those whose 
common language is oaths, " fllthiness, or foolish 
talking or jesting ?" Nay, let me tell you, if you 
choose such company when you might have better, 
and find most delight in such, you are so far from a 
heavenly conversation, that, as yet, you have no title 
to heaven at all, and in that state shall never come 
there. If your treasure was there, your heart could 
not be on things so distant. In a word, our com- 
pany will be a part of our happiness in heaven, and 
it is a singular part of our furtherance to it, or hin- 
derance from it. 

4. Avoid frequent disputes about lesser truths, 
and a religion that lies only in opinions. They are 
usually least acquainted with a heavenly life, who 
are violent disputers about the circumstantials of re- 
ligion. He whose religion is all in his opinions, 
will be most frequently and zealously speaking his 



310 HOW TO LEAD A HEAVENLY 

opinions ; and he whose religion lies in the know- 
ledge and love of God and Christ, will be most de- 
lightfully speaking of that happy time when he shall 
enjoy them. He is a rare and precious Christian, 
who is skillful to improve well-known truths. There- 
fore let me advise you who aspire after a heavenly 
life, not to spend too much of your thoughts, your 
time, your zeal, or your speech, upon disputes that 
less concern your souls ; but when hypocrites are 
feeding on husks or shells, do you feed on the joys 
above. I wish you were able to defend every truth 
of God, and to this end would read and study ; but 
still I would have the chief truths to be chiefly stu- 
died, and none to cast out your thoughts of eternity. 
The least controverted points are usually most 
Aveighty, and of most necessary, frequent use to our 
souls. Therefore study well such Scripture precepts 
as these : " Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, 
but not to doubtful disputations. Foolish and un- 
learned questions avoid, knowing that they do gen 
der strifes. And the servant of the Lord must not 
strive." " Avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, 
and contentions, and strivings about the law ; foi 
they are unprofitable and vain." " If any man teach 
otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, 
even the w r ords of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the 
doctrine which is according to godliness, he is proud, 
knowing nothing, but doting about questions and 
strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, rail- 



LIFE UPON EARTH. 311 

ings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of 
corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, supposing 
that gain is godliness ; from such withdraw thyself." 
5. Take heed of a proud and lofty spirit. There 
is such an antipathy between this sin and God, that 
thou wilt never g^t thy heart near him, nor get him 
near thy heart, as long as this prevail eth in it. If 
it cast the angels out of heaven, it must needs keep 
thy heart from heaven. If it cast our first parents 
out of paradise, and separated between the Lord and 
us, and brought his curse on all the creatures here 
below, it will certainly keep our hearts from para- 
dise, and increase the cursed separation from our 
God. Intercourse with God will keep men low, 
and that lowliness will promote their intercourse. 
When a man is used to be much with God, and 
taken up in the study of his glorious attributes, he 
abhors himself in dust and ashes ; and that self-ab- 
horrence is his best preparative to obtain admittance 
to God again. Therefore, after a soul-humbling 
day, or in times of trouble, when the soul is lowest, 
it useth to have freest access to God, and savor most 
of the life above. The delight of God is in " him 
that is poor, and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at 
his word :" and the delight of such a soul is in God ; 
and where there is mutual delight, there will be 
freest admittance, heartiest welcome, and most fre- 
quent converse. But God is so far from dwelling 
in the soul that is proud, that he will not admit it to 



312 HOW TO LEAD A HEAVENLY 

any near access. " The pro ad he knoweth afat 
off;" " God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to 
th«j humble." A proud mind is high in conceit, self- 
esteem, and carnal aspiring ; a humble mind is high 
indeed in God's esteem, and in holy aspiring. These 
two sorts of high-mindedness are most of all oppo- 
site to each other, as we see most wars are between 
princes and princes, and not between a prince and a 
ploughman. Well, then, art thou a man of worth 
in thy own eyes ? Art thou delighted when thou 
hearest of thy esteem with men, and much dejected 
when thou hearest that they slight thee ? Dost thou 
love those best that honor thee, and think meanly of 
them that do not, though they be otherwise men of 
godliness and honesty? Must thou have thy hu- 
mors fulfilled, and thy judgment be a rule, and thy 
word a law to all about thee ? Are thy passions kin- 
dled, if thy word or will be crossed ? Art thou ready 
to judge humility to be sordid baseness, and know- 
est not how to submit to humble confession, when 
thou hast sinned against God, or injured thy bro- 
ther ? Art thou one that lookest strange at the god- 
ly poor, and art almost ashamed to be their compan- 
ion ? Canst thou not serve God in a low place as 
well as a high ? Are thy boastings restrained more 
by prudence or artifice than humility ? Dost thou 
desire to have all men's eyes upon thee, and to hear 
them say, " This is he ?" Art thou unacquainted 
with the dcceitfulness and wickedness of thy heart? 



LIFE UPON EARTH. 313 

Art thou more ready to defend thy innocence, than 
accuse thyself, or confess thy fault? Canst thou 
hardly bear a close reproof, or digest plain dealing ? 
If these symptoms be undeniably in thy heart, thou 
art a proud person. There is too much of hell abid- 
ing in thee, to have any acquaintance with heaven ; 
thy soul is too like the devil, to have any familiarity 
with God. A proud man makes himself his god, 
and sets up himself as his idol ; how, then, can his 
affections be set on God ? how can he possibly have 
his heart in heaven ? Invention and memory may 
possibly furnish his tongue with humble and hea- 
venly expressions, but in his spirit there is no more 
heaven than there is humility. I speak the more of 
it, because it is the most common and dangerous sin 
in morality, and most promotes the great sin of infi- 
delity. O Christian ! if thou wouldst live continual- 
ly in the presence of thy Lord, lie in the dust, and 
he will thence take thee up. " Learn of him to be 
meek and lowly, and thou shalt find rest unto thy 
soul." Otherwise thy soul will be " like the troubled 
sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire 
and dirt;" and instead of these sweet delights in 
God, thy pride will fill thee with perpetual disquiet. 
As he that humbleth himself as a little child shall 
hereafter be greatest in the kingdom of heaven, so 
shall he now be greatest in the foretastes of that 
kingdom. God " dwells with a contrite and humble 
spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive 

07 Saints' Rest. 



314 HOW TO LEAD A HEAVENLY 

the heart of the contrite ones." Therefore, " humble 
yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift 
you up." And when " others are cast down, then thou 
shalt say, there is lifting up ; and he shall save the 
humble person." 

6. A slothful spirit is another impediment to this 
heavenly life. And I verily think, there is nothing 
hinders it more than this in men of a good under- 
standing. If it were only the exercise of the body, 
the moving of the lips, the bending of the knee, 
men would as commonly step to heaven, as they go 
to visit a friend. But to separate our thoughts and 
affections from the world, to draw forth all our 
graces, and increase each in its proper object, and 
hold them to it till the work prospers in our hands ; 
this, this is the difficulty. Reader, heaven is above 
thee, and dost thou think to travel this steep ascent 
without labor and resolution ? Canst thou get that 
earthly heart to heaven, and bring that backward 
mind to God, while thou liest still, and takest thine 
ease? If lying down at the foot of the hill, and 
looking toward the top, and wishing we were there, 
would serve the turn, then we should have daily 
travelers for heaven. But " the kingdom of hea- 
ven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by 
force." There must be violence used to get these 
first-fruits, as well as to get the full possession. 
Dost thou not feel it so, though I should not tell 
thee? Will thy heart get upward, except thou drive 



LIFE UPON EARTH. 315 

it? Thou knowest that heaven is all thy hope; 
that nothing below can yield thee rest ; that a heart, 
seldom thinking of heaven, can draw but little com- 
fort thence ; and yet dost thou not lose thy opportu- 
nities, and lie below, when thou shouldst walk above, 
and live with God ? Dost thou not commend 
the sweetness of a heavenly life, and judge those 
the best Christians that use it, and yet never try it 
thyself? As the sluggard that stretches himself on 
his bed, and cries, O that this were working ! so 
dost thou talk, and trifle, and live at thy ease, and 
say, O that I could get my heart to heaven ! How 
many read books and hear sermons, expecting to 
hear of some easier way, or to meet with a shorter 
course to comfort, than they are ever like to find in 
Scripture ! Or they ask for directions for a heavenly 
life, and if the hearing them will serve, they will be 
heavenly Christians ; but if. we show them their 
work, and tell them they cannot have these delights 
on easier terms, then they leave us, as the young 
man left Christ, sorrowful. If thou art convinced, 
reader, that this work is necessary to thy comfort, 
set upon it resolutely : if thy heart draw back, force 
it on with the command of reason ; if thy reason be- 
gin to dispute, produce the command of God, and 
urge thy own necessity, with the other considerations 
suggested in the former chapter. Let not such an 
incomparable treasure lie before thee, with thy hand 
in thy bosom ; nor thy life be a continual vexation, 



316 HOW TO LEAD A HEAVENLY 

when it might be a continual feast, only because thou 
wilt not exert thyself. Sit not still with a disconso* 
late spirit, while comforts grow before thine eyes, 
like a man in the midst of a garden of flowers, that 
will not rise to get them, and partake of their sweet- 
ness. This I know, Christ is the fountain ; but the 
well is deep, and thou must get forth this water be- 
fore thou canst be refreshed with it. I know, so far 
as you are spiritual, you need not all this striving 
and violence ; but in part you are carnal, and as 
long as it is so, there is need of labor. It was the 
custom of the Parthians, not to give their children 
any meat in the morning, before they saw the sweat 
on their faces with some labor. And you shall find 
this to be God's usual course, not to give his children 
the tastes of his delights till they begin to sweat in 
seeking after them. Judge, therefore, whether a 
heavenly life or thy carnal ease be better ; and, as a 
wise man, make thy choice accordingly. Yet, let me 
add for thy encouragement, thou needest not employ 
thy thoughts more than thou now dost; it is only to fix 
them upon better and more pleasant objects. Em- 
ploy but as many serious thoughts every day upon 
the excellent glory of the life to come, as thou now 
dost upon worldly affairs, yea, on vanities and imper- 
tinences, and thy heart will soon be in heaven. On the 
whole, it is " the field of the slothful that is all grown 
over with thorns and nettles ; and the desire of the 
slothful killeth his joy, for his hands refuse to labor ; 



"LIFE UPON EARTH. 317 

and it is the slothful man that saith, There is a lion in 
the way, a lion is in the streets. As the door turneth 
upon its hinges, so doth the slothful man upon his bed. 
The slothful hideth his hand in his bosom ; it griev- 
eth him to bring it again to his mouth," though it 
be to feed himself with the food of life. What is 
this but throwing away our consolations, and conse- 
quently the precious blood that bought them ? For 
" he that is slothful in his work, is brother to hirn 
that is a great waster." Apply this to thy spiritual 
work, and study well the meaning of it. 

7. Contentment with the mere preparatives to this 
heavenly life, while we are utter strangers to the life 
itself is also a dangerous and secret hinderance: 
when we take up with the mere study of heavenly 
things, and the notions of them, or the talking with 
one another about them ; as if this were enough to 
make us heavenly. None are in more danger of 
the snare, than those that are employed m leading 
the devotions of others, especially preachers of the 
Gospel. O how easily may such be deceived ! while 
they do nothing so much as read and study of hea- 
ven ; preach, and pray, and talk of heaven : is not 
this the heavenly life ? Alas ! all this is but mere 
preparation ; this is but collecting the materials, not 
erecting the building itself; it is but gathering the 
manna for others, and not eating and digesting it 
ourselves. As he that sits at home may draw ex- 
act maps of countries, and yet never see them, nor 

s. r. 27* 



318 HOW TO LEAD A HEAVENLY 

travel toward them ; so may you describe to others the 
joys of heaven, and yet never come near it in your 
own hearts. A blind man, by learning, may dispute 
of light and colors ; so may you set forth to others 
that heavenly light which never enlightened your 
own souls, and bring that fire from the hearts of 
your people which never warmed your own hearts. 
What heavenly passages had Balaam in his prophe- 
cies, yet how little of it in his spirit ! Nay, we are 
under a more subtle temptation than any other men 
to draw us from this heavenly life. Studying and 
preaching of heaven more resembles a heavenly 
life than thinking and talking of the world does ; 
and the resemblance is apt to deceive us. This is to 
die the most miserable death, even to famish our- 
selves, because we have bread on our tables ; and 
to die for thirst, while we draw water for others ; 
thinking it enough that we have daily to do with it, 
though we never drink for the refreshment of our 
own souls. 

Secondly, Having thus showed what hinderances 
will resist the work, I expect that thou resolve against 
them, consider them seriously, and avoid them faith- 
fully, or else thy labor will be vain. I must also tell 
thee, that I here expect thy promise, as thou valuest 
the delights of these foretastes of heaven, to make 
conscience of performing the following duties ; par- 
ticularly, 

1. Be convinced that heaven is the only treasure 



LIFE UPON EARTH. 319 

and happiness, and labor to know what a treasure 
and happiness it is. If thou do not believe it to be 
the chief good, thou wilt never set thy heart upon it ; 
and this conviction must sink into thy affections ; for 
if it be only a notion, it will have little efficacy. If 
Eve once supposes she sees more worth in the for- 
bidden fruit than in the love and enjoyment of God, 
no wonder if it have more of her heart than God. 
If your judgment once prefer the delights of the flesh 
before the delights of the presence of God, it is im- 
possible your heart should be in heaven. As it is ig- 
norance of the emptiness of things below, that makes 
men so overvalue them ; so it is ignorance of the 
high delights above, which is the cause that men so 
little mind them. If you see a purse of gold, and 
believe it to be but counters, it will not entice your 
affections to it. It is not the real excellence of a 
thing itself, but its known excellence, that excites 
desire. If an ignorant man see a book, containing 
the secrets of arts or sciences, he values it no more 
than a common piece, because he knows not what 
is in it ; but he that knows it, highly values it, and 
can even forbear his meat, drink, and sleep, to read 
it. As the Jews killed the Messiah, while they 
waited for him, because they did not know him ; so 
the world cries out for rest, and busily seeks for de- 
light and happiness, because they know it not ; for 
did they thoroughly know what it is, they could not 
so slight the everlasting treasure 



320 



KOW TO LEAD A HEAVENLY 



2. Labor also to know that heaven is thy own hap- 
piness. We may confess heaven to be the best con- 
dition, though we despair of enjoying it; and we may 
desire and seek it, if we see the attainment but pro- 
bable ; but we can never delightfully rejoice in it, till 
we are in some measure persuaded of our title to it. 
What comfort is it to a man that is naked, to see the 
rich attire of others ? What delight is it for a man 
that hath not a house to put his head in, to see the 
sumptuous buildings of others? Would not all this 
rather increase his anguish, and make him more 
sensible of his own misery ? So, for a man to know 
the excellencies of heaven, and /not know whether 
ever he shall enjoy them, may raise desire, and urge 
pursuit, but he will have little joy. Who will set 
his heart on another man's » possessions % If your 
houses, your goods, your cattle, your children were 
not your own, you would less mind them, and less 
delight in them. O Christian ! rest not, therefore, 
till you can call this rest your own : bring thy heart 
to the bar of trial : set the qualifications of the saints 
on one side, and of thy soul on the other, and then 
judge how near they resemble. Thou hast the same 
word to judge thyself by now, as thou must be 
judged by at the great day. Mistake not the Scrip- 
ture's description of a saint, that thou neither acquit 
nor condemn thyself upon mistakes. For as ground 
less hopes tend to confusion, and are the greatest 
cause of most men's damnation; so groundless 



LIFE UPON EARTH/ 321 

doubts tend to, and are the great cause of, the saints' 1 
perplexity and distress. Therefore, lay thy founda- 
tion for trial safely, and proceed in the work delibe- 
rately and resolutely, nor give over till thou canst 
say either thou hast or hast not yet a title to this 
rest. O if men did truly know that God is their 
own Father, and Christ their only Redeemer and 
Head, and that those are their own everlasting ha- 
bitations, and that there they must abide and be 
happy for ever ; how could they choose but be 
transported with the forethoughts thereof! If a 
Christian could but look upon sun, moon, and stars, 
and reckon all his own in Christ, and say, " These 
are the blessings that my Lord hath procured me, 
and things incomparably greater than these f what 
holy raptures would his spirit feel ! 

The more do they sin against their own comforts, 
as well as against the grace of the Gospel, who 
plead for their unbelief, and cherish distrustful 
thoughts of God, and injurious thoughts of their 
Redeemer ; who represent the covenant as if it were 
of works, and not of grace ; and Christ as an ene- 
my rather than a Savior ; as if he were willing they 
should die in their unbelief, when he hath invited 
them so often and so affectionately, and suffered the 
agonies that they should suffer. Wretches that we 
are ! to be keeping up jealousies of our Lord, when 
w r e should be rejoicing in his love. As if any man 
could choose Christ, before Christ hath chosen him; 



222 HOW TO LEAD A HEAVENLY 

or any man were more willing to be happy, than 
Christ is to make him happy. Away with these in- 
jurious, if not blasphemous thoughts ! If ever thou 
Jtiast harbored such thoughts in thy breast, cast 
them from thee, and take heed how thou ever enter- 
tainest them more. God hath written the names oi 
his people in heaven, as you use to write your names 
or marks on your goods ; and shall we be attempt- 
ing to raze them out, and to write our names on the 
doors of hell ? But blessed be " God, whose founda- 
tion standeth sure ;" and who " keepeth us by his 
power, through faith, unto salvation." 

3. Labor to apprehend how near thy rest is. What 
we think near at hand, we are more sensible of than 
that which we behold at a distance. When judg- 
ments or mercies are afar off, we talk of them with 
little concern ; but when they draw close to us, we 
tremble at, or rejoice in them. This makes men 
think on heaven so insensibly, because they conceive 
it at too great a distance ; they look on it as twenty, 
thirty, or forty years off. How much better w r ere it 
to receive "the sentence of death in ourselves," and 
to look on eternity as near at hand ! While I am 
thinking and writing of it, it hasteneth near, and \ 
am even entering into it before I am aware. While 
thou art reading this, whoever thou art, time post- 
eth on, and thy life will be gone, " as a tale that is 
told." If you verily believed you should die to- 
morrow, how seriously would you think of heaven 



LIFE UPON EARTH. 323 

to-night! When Samuel hnd told Saul, " To-mor- 
row shalt thou be with me," this struck him to the 
heart. And if Christ should say to a believing soul, 
11 To-morrow shalt thou be w T ith me," this would 
bring him in spirit to heaven beforehand. Do but 
suppose that you are still entering into heaven, and 
it will greatly help you more seriously to mind it. 

4. Let thy eternal rest bo the subject of thy fre- 
quent serious discourse, especially with those that 
can speak from their hearts, and are seasoned them- 
selves with a heavenly nature. It is pity Christians 
should ever meet together, without some talk of their 
meeting in heaven, or of the way to it, before they 
part. It is pity so much time is spent in vain con- 
versation and useless disputes, and not a serious word 
of heaven among them. Methinks we should meet 
together on purpose to warm our spirts with discours- 
ing of our rest. To hear a Christian set forth that 
blessed, glorious state, with life and power, from the 
promises of the Gospel, methinks, should make us 
say, " Did not our hearts burn within us, while he 
opened to us the Scriptures?" If a Felix will trem- 
ble when he hears his judgment powerfully repre- 
sented, why should not the believer be revived when 
he hears his eternal rest described ? Wicked men 
can be delighted in talking together of their wick- 
edness ; and should not Christians then be delight- 
ed in talking of Christ, and the heirs of heaven in 
talking of their inheritance? This may make our 



324 HOW TO LEAD A HEAVENLY 

hearts revive, as it did Jacob's to hear the message 
that called him to Goshen, and to see the chariots 
that should bring him to Joseph. O that we were 
furnished with skill and resolution to turn the stream 
of men's common discourse to these more sublime 
and precious things ! and, when men begin to talk 
of. things unprofitable, that we could tell how to 
put in a word for heaven, and say, as Peter of his 
bodily food, " Not so, for I have never eaten any 
thing that is common or unclean !" O the good 
that we might both do and receive by this course ! 
Had it not been to deter us from unprofitable con* 
versation, Christ would not have talked of our " giv- 
ing an account of every idle word in the day of 
judgment." Say, then, as the Psalmist, when you 
are in company, " Let my tongue cleave to the roof 
of my mouth, if I prefer not Jerusalem above my 
chief joy." Then you shall find it true, that a 
" wholesome tongue is a tree of life." 

5. Endeavor, in every duty, to raise thy affections 
nearer to heaven. God's end, in the institution of 
his ordinances, was, that they should be as so many 
steps to advance us to our rest, and by which.; in sub- 
ordination to Christ, we might daily ascend in our 
affections. Let this be thy end in using them, and 
doubtless they will not be unsuccessful. How have 
you been rejoiced by a few lines from a friend, when 
you could not see him face to face ! And may we not 
have intercourse with God in his ordinances, though 



LIFE UPON EARTH. 326 

our persons be yet so far remote? May not our spi- 
rits rejoice in reading those lines which contain our 
legacy and charter for heaven? With what glad- 
ness and triumph may we read the expressions of 
divine love, and hear of our celestial country, though 
we have not yet the happiness to behold it ! Men 
that are separated by sea and land, can by letters 
carry on great and gainful trades ; and may not a 
Christian, in the wise improvement of duties, drive 
on this happy trade for rest ? Come, then ; renounce 
formality, custom and applause, and kneel down in 
secret or public prayer, with hope to get thy heart 
nearer to God before thou risest up. When thou 
openest thy Bible, or other book, hope to meet with 
some passage of divine truth, and such blessing of 
the Spirit with it, as will give thee a fuller taste of 
heaven. When thou art going to the house of God, 
say, " I hope to meet with somewhat from God to 
raise my affections before I return ; I hope the Spi- 
rit will give me his presence, and sweeten my heart 
with those celestial delights ; I hope Christ will 
4 appear to me in that way, and shine about me with 
light from heaven ;' let me hear his instructing and 
reviving voice, and cause the scales to fall from my 
eyes, that I may see more of that glory than I ever 
yet saw. I hope, before I return, my Lord will 
bring my heart within the view of rest, and set it 
before his Father's presence, that I may return as 
'the shepherds' from the heavenly vision, * glorify- 

23 Saints' Rest. 



326 HOW TO LEAD A HEAVENLY 

ing and praising God for all the things I have heard 
and seen.' " When the Indians first saw that the 
English could converse together by letters, they 
thought there was some spirit enclosed in them. So 
would by-standers admire, when Christians have 
communion with God in duties, what there is in 
those Scriptures, in that sermon, in this prayer, that 
fills their hearts so full of joy, and so transports 
them above themselves. Certainly God would not 
fail us in our duties, if we did not fail ourselves. 
Remember, therefore, always to pray for your mi- 
nister, that God would put some divine message 
into his mouth, which may leave a heavenly relish 
upon your spirit. 

6. Improve every object and every event, io mind 
thy soul of its approaching rest. As all providences 
and creatures are means to our rest, so they point us 
to that as their end. God's sweetest dealings with 
us at the present would not be half so sweet as they 
are, if they did not intimate some further sweetness. 
Thou takest but the bare earnest, and overlooked 
the main sum, when thou receivest thy mercies, and 
forgettest thy crown. O that Christians were skill- 
ful in this art ! You can open your Bibles ; learn 
to open the volumes of creation and providence, to 
read there also of God and glory. Thus we might 
have a fuller taste of Christ and heaven in every 
common meal, than most men have in a sacrament. 
If thou prosper in the world, let it make thee mor$ 



LIFE UPON EARTH. 327 

sensible of thy perpetual prosperity. If thou art 
weary with labor, let it make the thoughts of thy 
eternal rest more sweet If things go cross, let thy 
desires be more earnest to have sorrows and suffer- 
ings for ever cease. Is thy body refreshed with feod 
or sleep ? remember the inconceivable refreshment 
with Christ. Dost thou hear any good news? re- 
member what glad tidings it will be to hear the 
trump of God, and the applauding sentence of 
Christ. Art thou delighted with the society of the 
saints ? remember what the perfect society in hea- 
ven will be. Is God communicating himself to thy 
spirit ? remember the time of thy highest advance- 
ment, when both thy communion and joy shall be 
full. Dost thou hear the raging noise of the wicked, 
and the confusions of the world ? think of the blessed 
harmony in heaven. Dost thou hear the tempest of 
war ? remember the day when thou shalt be in per- 
fect peace, under the wings of the Prince of peace 
for ever. Thus, every condition and creature affords 
us advantages for a heavenly life, if we had but hearts 
to improve them. 

7. Be much in the angelical work of praise. The 
more heavenly the employment, the more it will 
make the spirit heavenly. Praising God is the work 
of angels and saints in heaven, and will be our own 
everlasting work ; and if we were more in it now, 
we should be more like what we shall be then. As 
desire, faith and hope are of shorter continuance 



328 HOW TO LEAD A HEAVENLY 

than love and joy, so also preaching-, prayer, and 
sacraments, and all means for expressing and con- 
firming our faith and hope, shall cease, when our 
triumphant expressions of love and joy shall abide 
for ever. The liveliest emblem of heaven that 1 
know upon earth, is when the people of God, in the 
deep sense of his excellency and bounty, from hearts 
abounding with love and joy, join together, both in 
heart and voice, in the cheerful and melodious sing- 
ing of his praises. These delights, like the testimony 
of the Spirit, witness themselves to be of God, and 
bring the evidences of their heavenly parentage 
along with them. 

Little do we know how we wrong ourselves by 
shutting out of our prayers the praises of God, or 
allowing them so narrow a room as we usually do, 
while we are copious enough in our confessions and 
petitions. Reader, I entreat thee, remember this: 
let praises have a larger room in thy duties ; keep 
matter ready at hand to feed thy praise, as well as 
matter for confession and petition. To this end, study 
the excellencies and goodness of the Lord as fre- 
quently as thy own wants and unworthiness ; the 
mercies thou hast received, and those which are 
promised, as often as the sins thou hast committed. 
" Praise is comely for the upright. Whoso offereth 
praise, glonfieth God. Praise ye the Lord, for the 
Lord is good ; sing praises unto .his name, for it is 
pleasant. Let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God 



LIFfc UPON EARTH. 329 

continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving 
thanks to his name." Had not David a most hea- 
venly spine, who was so much in this heavenly 
work 1 Doth it not sometimes raise our hearts, when 
we only read the song of Moses and the psalms of 
David ? How much more would it raise and refresh 
us, to be skillful and frequent in the work ourselves! 
O the madness of youth, that lay out that vigor of 
body and mind upon vain delights and fleshly lusts, 
which is so fit for the noblest work of man ! And O 
the sinful folly of many of the saints, who drench 
their spirits in continual sadness, and waste their 
days in complaints and groans, and so make them- 
selves, both in body and mind, unfit for this sweet 
and heavenly work ! Instead of joining with the 
people of God in his praises, they are questioning 
their worthiness, and studying their miseries ; and 
so rob God of his glory, and themselves of their 
consolation. But the greatest destroyer of our com- 
fort in this duty, is our taking up with the tune and 
melody, and suffering the heart to be idle, which 
ought to perform the principal part of the work, and 
use the melody to revive and exhilarate itself. 

8. Ever keep thy soul possessed with believing 
thoughts of the infinite love of God. Love is the 
attractive of love. Few so vile but will love those 
that love them. No doubt it is the death of our hea- 
venly life to have hard thoughts of God, to conceive 
of him as one that would rather damn than save us. 

s. r. 28* 



330 HOW TO LEAD A HE.WENLY 

This is to put the blessed God into the similitude 
of Satan. When our ignorance and unbelief have 
drawn the most deformed picture of God in our ima- 
ginations, then we complain that we cannot love him, 
nor delight in him. This is the case of many thou- 
sand Christians. Alas, that we should thus blas- 
pheme God, and blast our own joys ! Scripture as- 
sures us that " God is love ; that fury is not in him; 
that he hath no pleasure in the death of the wicked, 
but that the wicked turn from his way and live." 
Much more hath he testified his love to his chosen, 
and his full resolution to save them< O that we 
could always think of God as we do of a friend ; as 
of one that unfeignedly loves us, even more than we 
do ourselves ; whose very heart is set upon us to do 
us good, and hath therefore provided for us an ever- 
lasting dwelling with himself ! it would not then be 
so hard to have our hearts ever with him. Where 
we love most heartily, we shall think most sweetly 
and most freely. I fear most Christians think higher 
of the love of a hearty friend than of the love of God; 
and what wonder, then, if they love their friends bet- 
ter than God, and trust them more confidently than 
God, and had rather live with them than with God ? 
9. Carefully observe and cherish the motions of 
the Spirit of God. If ever thy soul get above this 
earth, and get acquainted with this heavenly life, 
the Spirit of God must be to thee as the chariot to 
Elijah ; yea, the very living principle by which thou 



LIFE UPON EARTH. 331 

must move and ascend. O, then, grieve not thy 
guide, quench not thy life, knock not off thy chariot 
wheel ! You little think how much the life of all 
your graces, and the happiness of you souls, depend 
upon your ready and cordial obedience to the Spi- 
rit. When the Spirit urges thee to secret payer ; 
or forbids thee thy transgressions ; or points to thee 
the way in which thou shouldst go ; and thou wilt 
not regard ; no wonder if heaven and thy soul be 
strange. If thou wilt not follow the Spirit, while 
it would draw thee to Christ and thy duty ; how 
should it lead thee to heaven, and bring thy heart 
into the presence of God % What supernatural help, 
what bold access, shall the soul find in its approach- 
es to the Almighty, that constantly obeys the Spi- 
rit % And how backward, how dull, how ashamed 
will he be in these addresses, who hath often broke 
away from the Spirit that would have guided him ! 
Christian reader, dost thou not feel sometimes a strong 
impression to retire from the world, and draw near 
to God? Do not disobey, but take the offer, and 
hoist up thy sails while this blessed gale may be 
had. The more of the Spirit we resist, the deeper 
will it wound ; and the more we obey, the speedier 
will be our pace. 

10. I advise thee, as a further help to this hea- 
venly life, neglect not the due care of thy bodily 
health. Thy body is a useful servant, if thou give 
it its due, and no more than its due ; but it is a most 



332 KOW TO LEAD A HEAVENLY IIFE. 

devouring tyrant, if thou suffer it to have what it 
unreasonably desires ; and it is as a blunted knife, if 
thou unjustly deny it what is necessary to its sup- 
port. When we consider how frequently men of- 
fend on both extremes, and how few use their bodies 
aright, we cannot wonder if they be much hindered 
in their converse with heaven. Most men are 
slaves to their appetite, and can scarce deny any 
thing to their flesh, and are therefore willingly car- 
ried by it to their sports, or profits, or vain compan- 
ions, when they should raise their minds to God 
and heaven. As you love your souls, " make not 
provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lust thereof;" 
but remember, " to be carnally minded is death ; be- 
cause the carnal mind is enmity against God; for 
it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed 
can be. So, then, they that are in the flesh cannot 
please God. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, 
not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye 
live after the flesh, ye shall die ; but if ye, through 
the Spirit, do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall 
live." There are a few who much hinder their 
heavenly joy by denying the body its necessaries, 
and so making it unable to serve them : if such 
wronged their flesh only, it would be no great mat- 
ter; but they wrong their souls also; as he that 
spoils the house injures the inhabitants. When the 
body is sick, and the spirits languish, how heavily 
do we move in the thoughts and joys of heaven ! 



NATURE OF HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 333 

CHAPTER XIII. 



THE NATURE OP HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION J WITH THE TIME, 
PLACE, AND TEMPER FITTEST FOR IT. 

The duty of heavenly contemplation is recommended and de- 
fined. T/te definition is illustrated, I. The time fittest for 
it is represented as, 1. Stated; 2. Frequent; 3. Seasonable 
every day, particularly every horoVs day, but more especially 
when our hearts are warmed with a sense of divine things ; 
or when we are afflicted or tempted ; or when we are near 
death, II. The fittest place for it. III. The fittest temper 
for it is, 1. When our minds are most clear of the world, 2. 
And most solemn and serious. 

Once more I entreat thee, reader, as thou makest 
conscience of a revealed duty, and darest not will- 
fully resist the Spirit ; as thou valuest the high de- 
lights of a saint, and the soul-ravishing exercise of 
heavenly contemplation ; that thou diligently study, 
and speedily and faithfully practice the following 
directions. If, by this means, thou dost not find an 
increase of all thy graces, and dost not grow beyond 
the stature of common Christians, and art not made 
more serviceable in thy place, and more precious in 
the eyes of all discerning persons ; if thy soul en- 
joy not more communion with God, and thy life be 
not fuller of comfort, and hast it not readier by thee 
at a dying hour ; then cast away these directions, 
and exclaim against me for ever as a deceiver. 



334 THE NATURE OF 

The duty which T press upon thee so earnestly, 
and in the practice of which I am now to direct 
thee, is, " The set and solemn acting of all the pow- 
ers of thy soul in meditation upon thy everlasting 
rest." More fully to explain the nature of this du- 
ty, I will here illustrate a little the description it- 
self; then point out the fittest time, place, and tern- 
per of mind for it. 

It is not improper to illustrate a little the manner 
m which we have described this duty of meditation, 
or the considering and contemplating of spiritual 
things. It is confessed to be a duty by all, but prac- 
tically denied by most. Many, that make conscience 
of other duties, easily neglect this. They are troubled 
if they omit a sermon, a fast, or a prayer, in public 
or private ; yet were never troubled that they have 
omitted meditation, perhaps all their life-time to this 
very day : though it be that duty by which all other 
duties are improved, and by which the soul digest- 
eth truths for its nourishment and comfort. It was 
God's command to Joshua, " This book of the law 
shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt 
meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest ob- 
serve to do according to all that is written therein." 
As digestion turns food into chyle and blood, for vi- 
gorous health, so meditation turns the truths receiv- 
ed and remembered into warm affection, firm reso- 
lution, and holy conversation. 

This meditation is the acting of all the powers of 



HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 335 

the soul. It is the work of the living-, and not of the 
dead. It is a work, of all others the most spiritual 
and sublime, and therefore not to be well performed 
by a heart that is merely carnal and earthly. They 
must necessarily have some relation to heaven be- 
fore they can familiarly converse there. I suppose 
them to be such as have a title to rest, when I per- 
suade them to rejoice in the meditations of rest. And 
supposing thee to be a Christian, I am now exhort- 
ing thee to be an active Christian. And it is the 
work of the soul I am setting thee to, for bodily ex- 
ercise doth here profit but little. And it must have 
all the powers of the soul to distinguish it from the 
common meditation of students; for the understand- 
ing is not the whole soul, and therefore cannot do 
the whole work. As in the body, the stomach must 
turn the food into chyle, and prepare for the liver, 
the liver and spleen turn it into blood, and prepare 
for the heart and brain ; so in the soul, the under- 
standing must take in truths, and prepare them for 
the will, and that for the affections. Christ and hea- 
ven have various excellencies, and therefore God 
hath formed the soul with different powers for ap- 
prehending those excellencies. What the better had 
we been for odoriferous flowers, if we had no smell? 
or what good would language or music have done 
us, if we could not hear? or what pleasure should 
we have found in meats and drinks, without the 
sense of taste ? So what good could all the glory 



336 THE NATURE OF 

of heaven have done us, or what pleasure should 
we have had in the perfection of God himself, if we 
had been without the affections of love and joy? 
And what strength or sweetness canst thou possibly 
receive by thy meditations on eternity, while thou 
dost not exercise those affections of the soul by 
which thou must be sensible of this sweetness and 
strength ? It is the mistake of Christians, to think 
that meditation is only the work of the understand- 
ing and memory ; when every school-boy can do 
this, or persons that hate the things which they think 
on. So that you see there is more to be done than 
barely to remember and think of heaven. As some 
labors not only stir a hand or a foot, but exercise the 
whole body ; so doth meditation the whole soul. As 
the affections of sinners are set on the world, are 
turned to idols, and fallen from God, as well as their 
understanding ; so must their affections be reduced 
to God, as well as the understanding ; and as their 
whole soul was filled with sin before, so the whole 
must be filled with God now. See David's descrip- 
tion of the blessed man : " His delight is in the law 
of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day 
and night." 

This meditation is set and solemn. As there is 
solemn prayer, when we set ourselves wholly to 
that duty; and ejaculatory prayer, when, in the 
midst of other business, we send up some short re- 
quest to God ; so also there is solemn meditation, 



HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 337 

when we apply ourselves wholly to that work ; and 
transient meditation, when, in the midst of other bu- 
siness, we have some good thoughts of God in our 
minds. And as solemn prayer is either set in a con- 
stant course of duty, or occasional, at an extraordi- 
nary season ; so also is meditation. Now, though 
I would persuade you to that meditation which is 
mixed with your common labors, and also that which 
special occasions direct you to ; yet I would have 
you likewise make it a constant standing duty, as 
you do by hearing, praying, and reading the Scrip- 
tures ; and no more intermix other matters with it, 
than you would with prayer, or other stated solem- 
nities. 

This meditation is upon thy everlasting rest. I 
would not have you cast off your other meditations ; 
but surely, as heaven hath the pre-eminence in per- 
fection, it should have it also in our meditation. 
That which will make us most happy when we pos- 
sess it, will make us most joyful when we meditate 
upon it. Other meditations are as numerous as 
there are lines in the Scripture, or creatures in the 
universe, or particular providences in the government 
of the world. -But this is a walk to Mount Sion ; 
from the kingdoms of this world to the kingdom of 
saints ; from earth to heaven ; from time to eternity : 
it is walking upon sun, moon and stars, in the gar ■ 
den and paradise of God. It may seem far off; 
but spirits are quick ; whether in the body or out of 

29 Sainis' Rest. 



338 THE NATURE OF 

the body, their motion is swift. You need not fear, 
like the men of the world, lest these thoughts should 
make you mad. It is heaven, and not hell, that I 
persuade you to walk in. It is joy, and not sor- 
row, that I persuade you to exercise. I urge you 
to look on no deformed objects, but only upon the 
ravishing glory of saints, and the unspeakable ex- 
cellences of the God of glory, and the beams that 
stream, from the face of his Son. Will it distract a 
man to think of his only happiness ? Will it dis- 
tract the miserable to think of mercy, or the prison- 
er to foresee deliverance, or the poor to think of ap- 
proaching riches and honor % Methinks it should 
rather make a man mad to think of living in a world 
of wo, and abiding in poverty and sickness, among 
the rage of wicked men, than to think of living 
with Christ in bliss. " But wisdom is justified of all 
her children." Knowledge hath no enemy but the 
ignorant. This heavenly course was never spoken 
against by any but those that never knew it, or ne- 
ver used it. I fear more the neglect of men that 
approve it, than the opposition or arguments of any 
against it. 

First. As to the fittest time for thisjieavenly con- 
templation, let me only advise that it be stated — 
frequent— and seasonable. 

1. Give it a stated time. If thou suit thy time to 
the advantage of the work, without placing any re- 
ligion in the time itself, thou hast no need to fear su- 



HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 339 

perstition. Stated time is a hedge to duty, and de- 
fends it against many temptations to omission. Some 
have not their time at command, and therefore can- 
not set their hours ; and many are so poor, that the 
necessities of their families deny them this freedom ; 
such persons should be watchful to redeem time as 
much as they can, and take their vacant opportuni- 
ties as they fall, and especially join meditation and 
prayer, as much as they can, with the labors of their 
callings. Yet those that have more time to spare 
from their worldly necessities, and are masters of 
their time, I still advise to keep this duty to a stated 
time. And indeed, if every work of the day had its 
appointed time, we should be better skilled, both in 
redeeming time and performing duty. 

2. Let it be frequent as well as stated. How oft 
it should be, I cannot determine, because men's cir- 
cumstances differ ; but in general, Scripture requires 
it to be frequent, when it mentions meditating day 
and night. For those, therefore, who can conveni- 
ently omit other business, I advise that it be once 
a day at least. Frequency in heavenly contempla- 
tion is particularly important, 

To prevent a shyness between God and thy soul. 
Frequent society gives familiarity, and familiarity 
increases love and delight, and makes us bold in 
our addresses. The chief end of this duty is, to 
have acquaintance and fellowship with God ; and 
therefore, if thou come but seldom to it, thou wih 



340 THE NATURE OF 

keep thyself a stranger still. When a man feels 
his need of God, and must seek his help in a time oi 
necessity, then it is great encouragement to go to 
a God we know and are acquainted with. " O " 
saith the heavenly Christian, " I know both whither 
I go, and to whom. I have gone this way many »a 
time before now. It is the same God that I daily 
converse with, and the wpy has been my daily walk. 
God knows me well enough, and I have some 
knowledge of him." On the other hand, what a 
horror and discouragement will it be to the soul, 
when it is forced to fly to God in straits, to think, 
" Alas ! I know not whither to go. I never went 
the way before. I have no acquaintance at the court 
of heaven. My soul knows not that God that I 
must speak to, and I fear he will not know my 
soul." But especially when we come to die, and 
must immediately appear before this God, and ex- 
pect to enter into his eternal rest, then the differ- 
ence will plainly appear ; then what a joy will it ba 
to think, " I am going to the place that 1 daily con- 
versed in ; to the place from whence I tasted such 
frequent delights ; to that God whom I have met in 
my meditation so often ! My heart hath been at hea- 
ven before now, and hath often tasted its reviving 
sweetness ; and if my eyes were so enlightened, 
and my spirits so refreshed, when I had but a taste, 
what will it be when I shall feed on it freely ?" On 
the contrary, what a terror will it be to think, " I 



HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 341 

must die, and go, I know not whither ; from a place 
where I am acquainted, to a place where I have no 
familiarity or knowledge!" It is an inexpressible 
horror to a dying man to have strange thoughts of 
God and heaven. I am persuaded the neglect of 
this duty so commonly makes death, even to godly 
men, unwelcome and uncomfortable. Therefore I 
persuade to frequency in this duty. And as it will 
prevent shyness between thee and God, so also 

It will prevent unskillfulness in the duty itself. 
How awkwardly do men set their hands to a work 
they are seldom employed in !• Whereas, frequency 
will habituate thy heart to the work, and make it 
more easy and delightful. The hill which made thee 
pant and blow at first going up, thou mayest easily 
run up, when thou art once accustomed to it. 

Thou wilt also prevent the loss of that heat and 
life thou hast obtained. If thou eat but once in two 
or three days, thou wilt lose thy strength as fast as 
it comes. If in holy meditation thou get near to 
Christ, and warm thy heart with the fire of love, 
and then come but seldom, thy former coldness will 
soon return ; especially as the work is so spiritual, 
and against the bent of depraved nature. It is true, 
the intermixing .of other duties, especially secret 
prayer, may do much to the keeping thy heart 
above; but meditation is the life of most other du- 
ties, and the view of heaven is the life of meditation. 

3. Choose also the most seasonable time. All 
s. r. 29* 



342 THE NATURE OF 

things are beautiful and excellent in their season. 
Unseasonableness may lose the fruit of thy labor 
may raise difficulties in the work, and may turn a 
duty to a sin. The same hour may be seasonable to 
one, and unseasonable to another. Servants and la- 
borers must take that season which their business 
can best afford ; either while at work, or in travel- 
ing, or when they lie awake in the night. Such as 
can choose what time of the day they will, should 
observe when they find their spirits most active and 
fit for contemplation, and fix upon that as the stated 
time. I have always found that the fittest time for 
myself is the evening, from sun-setting to the twi- 
light. I the rather mention this, because it was the 
experience of a better and wiser man ; for it is ex- 
pressly said, " Isaac went out to meditate in the field 
at the even-tide." The Lord's day is exceeding sea- 
sonable for this exercise. When should we more 
seasonably contemplate our rest, than on that day 
of rest which typifies it to us ? It being a day appro 
priated to spiritual duties, methinks we should never 
exclude this day, which is so eminently spiritual. 
I verily think this is the chief work of a Christian 
Sabbath, and most agreeable to the design of its po- 
sitive institution. What fitter time to converse with 
our Lord, than on the Lord's day? What fitter day 
to ascend to heaven, than that on which he arose 
from earth, and fully triumphed ever death and hell ? 
The fittest temper for a true Christian is, like John, 



HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 343 

to " be in the Spirit on the Lord's day." And what 
can bring us to this joy in the Spirit, but the spiritual 
beholding of our approaching glory ? Take notice 
of this, you that spend the Lord's day only in public 
worship; your allowing no time to private duty, 
and therefore neglecting this spiritual duty of medi- 
tation, is very hurtful to your souls. You, also, that 
have time on the Lord's day for idleness and vain 
discourse, were you but acquainted with this duty 
of contemplation, you would need no other pastime ; 
you would think the longest day short enough, and 
be sorry that the night had shortened your pleasure. 
Christians, let heaven have more share in your Sab- 
baths, where you must shortly keep your everlasting 
Sabbaths. Use your Sabbaths as steps to glory, till 
you have passed them all, and are there arrived. 
Especially you that are poor, and cannot take time 
in the week as you desire, see that you well improve 
this day ; as your bodies rest from their labors, let 
your spirits seek after rest from God. 

Besides the constant seasonableness of every day, 
and particularly every Lord's day, there are also 
more peculiar seasons for heavenly contemplation. 
As for instance : 

When God hath more abundantly warmed thy 
spirit with fire from above, then thou mayst soar 
with greater freedom.- A little labor will set thy 
heart a going at such a time as this ; whereas at 
another time thou mayst take pains to little purpose. 



344 THE NATURE OF 

Observe the gales of the Spirit, and how the Spirit 
of Christ doth move thy spirit. " Without Christ we 
can do nothing ;" and therefore let us be doing while 
he is doing ! and be sure not to be out of the way, 
nor asleep, when he comes. When the Spirit finds thy 
heart, like Peter, in prison, and in irons, and smites 
thee, and says, " Arise up quickly, and follow me !" 
be sure thou then arise and follow ; and thou shalt 
find thy chains fall off, and all doors will open, and 
thou wilt be at heaven before thou art aware. 

Another peculiar season for his duty is, when 
thou art in a suffering, distressed, or tempted state. 
When should we take our cordials but in time of 
fainting ? When is it more seasonable to walk to 
heaven, than when we know not in what corner of 
earth to live with comfort % Or when should our 
thoughts converse more above, than when we have 
nothing but grief below? Where should Noah's 
dove be but in the ark, when the waters cover all 
the earth, and she cannot find rest for the sole of her 
foot ? What should we think on but our Father's 
house, when we have not even the husks of the 
world to feed upon ? Surely God sends thy afflic- 
tions to this very purpose. Happy art thou, poor 
man, if thou make this use of thy poverty! and thou 
that art sick, if thou so improve thy sickness ! It is 
seasonable to go to the promised land, when our bur- 
dens are increased in Egypt, and our straits in the 
wilderness. Reader, if thou knew est what a cor- 



HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 345 

dial to thy griefs the serious views of glory are, 
thou wouldst less fear these harmless troubles, and 
more use that preserving, reviving remedy. " In 
the multitude of my" troubled "thoughts within 
me," saith David, "thy comforts delight my soul." 
"I reckon," saith Paul, "that the sufferings of this 
present time are not worthy to be compared with 
the glory which shall be revealed in us." " For 
which cause we faint not ; but though our outward 
man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by 
day. For our light affliction, which is but for a 
moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and 
eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the 
things which are seen, but at the things which are 
not seen ; for the things which are seen are tempo- 
ral, but the things which are not seen are eternal." 
And another season peculiarly fit for this heavenly 
duty is, when the messengers of God summon us to 
die. When should we more frequently sweeten our 
souls with the believing thoughts of another life, 
than when we find that this is almost ended ? No 
men have greater need of supporting j oys than dy- 
ing men ; and those joys must be drawn from our 
eternal joy. As heavenly delights are sweetest when 
nothing earthly is joined with them, so the delights 
of dying Christians are oftentimes the sweetest they 
ever had. What a prophetic blessing had dying 
Isaac and Jacob for their sons ! With what a hea- 
venly song and divine benediction did Moses con- 



o4D THE NATURE OF 

elude his life ! What heavenly advice and prayer 
had the disciples from their Lord, when he was 
about to leave them ! When Paul was ready to be 
offered up, what heavenly exhortation and advice 
did he give the Philippians, Timothy, and the el- 
ders of Ephesus ! How near to heaven was John 
in Patmos, but a little before his translation thither ! 
It is the general temper of the saints, to be then most 
heavenly when they are nearest heaven. If it be 
thy case, reader, to perceive thy dying time draw 
on, O where should thy heart now be but with 
Christ % Methinks thou shouldst even behold him 
standing by thee, and shouldst bespeak him as thy 
father, thy husband, thy physician, thy friend. Me- 
thinks thou shouldst, as it were, see the angels 
about thee, waiting to perform their last office to thy 
soul ; even those angels which disdained not to car- 
ry into Abraham's bosom the soul of Lazarus, nor 
will think much to conduct thee thither. Look 
upon thy pain and sickness as Jacob did on Jo- 
seph's chariots, and let thy spirit revive within thee, 
and say, " It is enough, Christ is yet alive ; because 
he liveth, I shall live also." Dost thou need the 
choicest cordials % Here are choicer than the world 
can afford ; here are all the joys of heaven, even the 
vision of God and Christ, and whatsoever the bless- 
ed here possess. These dainties are offered thee by 
the hand of Christ ; he hath written the receipt in 
the promises of the Gospel ; he hath prepared the 



HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION, 347 

ingredients in heaven ; only put forth the hand of 
faith, and feed upon them, and rejoice, and live. 
The Lord saith to thee, as to Elijah, " Arise and 
eat, because the journey is too great for thee." 
Though it be not long, yet the way is miry ; there- 
fore obey his voice, arise and eat, "and in the 
strength of that meat thou mayst go to the mount 
of God;" and, like Moses, "die in the mount whi- 
ther thou goest up ;" and say, as Simeon, " Lord, 
now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for my 
eye" of faith " hath seen thy salvation." 

Secondly. Concerning the fittest place for hea- 
venly contemplation, it is sufficient to say, that the 
most convenient is some private retirement. Our 
spirits need every help, and to be freed from every 
hinderance in the work. If, in private prayer, Christ 
directs us to " enter into our closet, and shut the 
door, that our Father may see us in secret," so 
should we do this in meditation. How often did 
Christ himself retire to some mountain, or wilder- 
ness, or other solitary place ! I give not this advice 
for occasional meditation, but for that which is set 
and solemn. Therefore withdraw thyself from all 
society, even that of godly men, that thou mayst 
awhile enjoy the society of thy Lord. If a student 
cannot study in a crowd, who exerciseth only his 
invention and memory, much less shouldst thou be 
in a crowd, who art to exercise all the powers of thy 
soul, and upon an object so far above nature. We 



348 THE NATURE OF 

are fled so far from superstitious solitude, that we 
have even cast off the solitude of contemplative de- 
votion. We seldom read of God's appearing by him* 
self, or by his angels, to any of his prophets or saints, 
in a crowd ; but frequently when they were alone. 
But observe for thyself what place best agrees with 
thy spirit, within doors or without. Isaac's example, 
in " going out to meditate in the field," will, I am 
persuaded, best suit with most. Our Lord so much 
used a solitary garden, that even Judas, when he 
came to betray him, knew where to find him : and 
though he took his disciples thither with him, yet 
he "was withdrawn from them" for more secret de- 
votions ; and though his meditation be not directly 
named, but only his praying, yet it is very clearly 
implied ; for his soul is first made sorrowful with 
the bitter meditations on his sufferings and death, 
and then he poureth it out in prayer. So that Christ 
had his accustomed place, and consequently accus- 
tomed duty ; and so must we : he hath a place that 
is solitary, whither he retireth himself, even from his 
own disciples, and so must we : his meditations go 
further than his thoughts ; they affect and pierce his 
heart and soul ; and so must ours. Only there is a 
wide difference in the object: Christ meditates on 
the sufferings that our sins had deserved, so that the 
wrath of his Father passed through all his soul ; 
but we are to meditate on the glory he hath pur- , 
chased, that the love of the Father, and the joy of 



HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 349 

the Spirit, may enter at our thoughts, and revive 
our affections, and overflow our souls. 

Thirdly. I am next to advise thee concerning 
the preparations of thy heart for this heavenly con- 
templation. The success of the work much depends 
on the frame of thy heart. When man's heart had 
nothing in it to grieve the Spirit, it was then the de- 
lightful habitation of his Maker. God did not quit 
his residence there till man expelled him by unwor- 
thy provocations. There was no shyness or reserve 
till the heart grew sinful, and too loathsome a dun- 
geon for God to delight in. And, was this soul re- 
duced to its former innocency, God would quickly 
return to his former habitation; yea, so far as it is 
renewed and repaired by the Spirit, and purged from 
its lusts, and beautified with his image, the Lord 
will yet acknowledge it as his own : Christ will 
manifest himself unto it, and the Spirit will take it 
for his temple and residence. So far as the heart is 
qualified for conversing with God, so far it usually 
enjoys him. Therefore, "with all diligence keep thy 
heait, for out of it are the issues of life." More par- 
ticularly, 

1. Get thy heart as clear from the world as thou 
canst. Wholly lay by the thoughts of thy business, 
troubles, enjoyments, and everything that may take 
up any room in thy soul. Get it as empty as thou 
possibly canst, that it may be the more capable of 
being filled with God. If thou couldst perform some 

2Q Saints' Re*L 



350 THE NATURE OF 

outward duty with a part of thy heart, while the 
rest is absent, yet this duty, above all, I am sure 
thou canst not. When thou shalt go into the mount 
of contemplation, thou wilt be like the covetous man 
at the heap of gold, who, when he might take as 
much as he could, lamented that he was able to carry 
no more ; so thou wilt find so much of God and 
glory as thy narrow heart is able to contain, and al- 
most nothing to hinder thy full possession, but the 
incapacity of thy own spirit. Then thou wilt think, 
44 O that this understanding, and these affections, 
could contain more ! It is more my unfitness than 
any thing else, that even this place is not my hea- 
ven. 4 God is in this place, and I know it not.' 
This ' mount is full of chariots of fire ;' but mine 
eyes are shut, and I cannot see them. O the words 
of love Christ hath to speak, and wonders of love he 
hath to show, but I cannot bear them yet ! Heaven 
is ready for me, but my heart is unready for heaven." 
Therefore, reader, seeing thy enjoyment of God in 
this contemplation much depends on the capacity 
and disposition of thy heart, seek him here, if ever, 
with all thy soul. Thrust not Christ into the stable 
and the manger, as if thou hadst better guests for 
the chief rooms. Say to all thy worldly business 
and thoughts, as Christ to his disciples, "Sit ye 
here, while I go and pray yonder ;" or, as Abraham 
to his servants, w r hen he went to offer Isaac, "Abide 
ye here, and I will go yonder and worship, and 



HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 351 

come again to you." Even as " the priests thrust 
king Uzziah out of the temple," where he presumed 
to burn incense, when they saw the leprosy upon 
him ; so do thou thrust those thoughts from the 
temple of thy heart, which have the badge of God's 
prohibition upon them. 

2. Be sure enter upon this work with the great- 
est solemnity of heart and mind. There is no tri- 
fling in holy things. " God will be sanctified in 
them that come nigh him." These spiritual, excel- 
lent, soul-raising duties, are, if well used, most pro- 
fitable; but, when used unfaithfully, most danger- 
ous. Labor, therefore, to have the deepest appre- 
hensions of the presence of God, and his incompre- 
hensible greatness. If queen Esther must not draw 
near " till the king hold out the sceptre," think, then, 
with what reverence thou shouldst approach him 
who made the worlds with the word of his mouth, 
who upholds the earth as in the palm of his hand, 
who keeps the sun, moon, and stars in their courses, 
and who sets bounds to the raging sea! Thou art 
going to converse with him, before whom the earth 
will quake and devils do tremble, and at whose bar 
thou and all the world must shortly stand, and be 
finally judged. O think ! " I shall then have lively 
apprehensions of his majesty. My drowsy spirits 
will then be awakened, and my irreverence be laid 
aside ; and why should I not now be roused with 
the sense of his greatness, and the dread of his name 



352 NATURE OF HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 

possess my soul ?" Labor also to apprehend the 
greatness of the work which thou attemptest, and to 
be deeply sensible both of its importance and excel- 
lency. If thou wast pleading for thy life at the bar 
of an earthly judge, thou wouldst be serious, and yet 
that would be a trifle to this. If thou wast engaged 
in such a work as David against Goliath, on which 
the wellfare of a kingdom depended ; in itself consi- 
dered, it were nothing to this. Suppose thou wast 
going to such a wrestling as Jacob's, or to see the 
sight which the three disciples saw in the mount, 
how seriously, how reverently wouldst thou both 
approach and behold ! If but an angel from hea- 
ven should appoint to meet thee at the same time 
and place of thy contemplations, with what dread 
wouldst thou be filled ? Consider, then, with what 
a spirit thou shouldst meet the Lord, and with what 
seriousness and awe thou shouldst daily converse 
with him. Consider, also, the blessed issue of the 
work; if it succeed ; it will be thy admission into the 
presence of God, and the beginning of thy eternal 
glory on earth ; a means to make thee live above 
the rate of other men, and fix thee in the next room 
to the angels themselves, that thou mayst both live 
and die joyfully. The prize being so great, thy 
preparations should be answerabl^. There is none 
on earth live such a life of joy and blessedness as 
those that are acquainted with this heavenly convert 
sation. The joys of all other men are but like a 



AUXILIARIES, &c 353 

child's plaything, a fool's laughter, or a sick man's 
dream of health. He that trades for heaven is the 
only gainer, and he that neglects it is the only loser. 
How seriously, therefore, should this work be done! 



CHAPTER XIV. 



WHAT USE HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION MAKES OF CONSIDERA- 
TION, AFFECTIONS, SOLILOQUY, AND PRAYER. 

I. The use of consideration , and its great influence over the 
heart. II. Contemplation is promoted by the affections ; par- 
ticularly, 1. By love, 2. Desire, 3. Hope, 4. Courage, or bold- 
ness, 5. Joy. III. The usefulness of soliloquy and prayer in 
heavenly contemplation. 

Having set thy heart in tune, we now come to 
the music itself. Having got an appetite, now ap- 
proach to the feast, and delight thy soul as with mar- 
row and fatness. Come, for all things are now rea- 
dy. Heaven and Christ, and the exceeding weight 
of glory, are before you. Do not make light of 
this invitation, nor begin to make excuses ; what- 
ever thou art, rich or poor, though in alms-houses 
or hospitals, though in high-ways or hedges, my 
commission is, if possible, to compel you to come 
in ; and blessed is he that shall eat bread in the 

s. r. 30* 



354 AUXILIARIES OF 

kingdom of God ! The manna lieth about your 
tents ; walk out, gather it up, take it home, and feed 
upon it. In order to this, I am only to direct you — 
how to use your consideration — and affections — your 
soliloquy and prayer. 

First. Consideration is the great instrument by 
which this heavenly work is carried on. This must 
be voluntary, and not forced. Some men consider un- 
willingly; so God will make the wicked consider 
their sins, when he shall " set them in order before 
their eyes;" so shall the damned consider of the ex- 
cellency of Christ, whom they once despised, and 
of the eternal joys which they have foolishly lost. 
Great is the power which consideration hath for 
moving the affections, and impressing things on the 
heart ; as will appear by the following particulars : 

1. Consideration, as it were, opens the door be- 
tween the head and the heart. The understanding 
having received truths, lays them up in the memo- 
ry, and consideration conveys them from thence to 
the affections. What excellency would there be in 
much learning and knowledge, if the obstructions 
between the head and the heart were but opened, 
and the affections did but correspond to the under- 
standing ! He is usually the best scholar, whose ap- 
prehension is quick, clear, and tenacious ; but he is 
usually the best Christian, whose apprehension is 
the deepest and most affectionate, and who has the 
readiest passages 3 not so much from the ear to the 



HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 355 

brain, as from that to the heart. And though the 
Spirit be the principal cause, yet, on our part, this 
passage must be opened by consideration. 

2. Consideration presents to the affections those 
things which are most important. The most delight- 
ful object does not entertain where it is not seen, nor 
the most joyful news affect him that does not hear it ; 
but consideration presents to our view those things 
which were as absent, and brings them to the eye 
and ear of the soul. Are not Christ and glory affect- 
ing objects ? Would they not work wonders upon 
the soul, if they were but clearly discovered, and 
our apprehensions of them were in some measure 
answerable to their worth % It is consideration that 
presents them to us : this is the Christian's perspec- 
tive, by which he can see from earth to heaven. 

3. Consideration, also, presents the most impor- 
tant things in the most affecting way. Considera- 
tion reasons the case with a man's own heart. 
When a believer would reason his heart to heaven- 
ly contemplation, how many arguments offer them- 
selves from God and Christ, from each of the divine 
perfections, from our former and present state, from 
promises, from present sufferings and enjoyments, 
from hell and heaven ! Every thing offers itself to 
promote our joy, and consideration is the hand to 
draw them all out ; it adds one reason to another, till 
the scales turn : this it does when persuading to joy, till 
it has silenced all our distrust and sorrows, and our 



356 AUXILIARIES OF 

cause for rejoicing lies plain before us. If another's 
reasoning is powerful with us, though we are not cer- 
tain whether he intends to inform or deceive us, how 
much more should our own reasoning prevail with 
us, when we are so well acquainted with our own 
intentions ! Nay, how much more should God's rea- 
soning be regarded, which we are sure cannot de- 
ceive, or be deceived ! Now, consideration is but the 
reading over and repeating God's reasons to our 
hearts. As the prodigal had many and f strong rea- 
sons to plead with himself why he should return to 
his father's house, so have we to plead with our af- 
fections, to persuade them to our Father's everlast- 
ing mansions. 

4. Consideration exalts reason to its just authori- 
ty. It helps to deliver it from its captivity to the 
senses, and sets it again on the throne of the soul. 
When reason is silent, it is usually subject ; for 
when it is asleep, the senses domineer. But con- 
sideration awakens our reason, till, like Samson, it 
rouses up itself, and breaks the bonds of sensuality, 
and bears down the delusions of the flesh. What 
strength can the lion exert while asleep % What is 
a king, when dethroned, more than another man ? 
Spiritual reason, excited by meditation, and not fan- 
cy or fleshly sense, must judge of heavenly joys. 
Consideration exalts the objects of faith, and compar- 
atively disgraces the objects of sense. The most in- 
considerate men are most sensual. It is too easy and 



HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 357 

common to sin against knowledge ; but against sober, 
strong, persevering consideration, men seldom offend. 

5. Consideration makes reason strong and active. 
Before, it was a standing water, but now as a stream, 
which violently bears down all before it. Before, it 
was as the stones in the brook, but now like that out 
of David's sling, which smites the Goliath of our 
unbelief in the forehead. As wicked men continue 
wicked, because they bring not reason into action 
and exercise ; so godly men are uncomfortable, be- 
cause they let their reason and faith lie asleep, and 
do not stir them up to action by this work of medita- 
tion. What fears, sorrows, and joys will our very 
dreams excite ! How much more, then, would seri- 
ous meditation affect us ! 

6. Consideration can continue and persevere in this 
rational employment. Meditation holds reason and 
faith to their work, and blows the fire till it tho- 
roughly burns. To run a few steps will not get a 
man heat, but walking an hour may ; and though a 
sudden occasional thought of heaven w T ill not raise 
our affections to any spiritual heat, yet meditation 
can continue our thoughts till our hearts grow 
warm. Thus you see the powerful tendency of 
consideration to produce this great elevation of the 
soul in heavenly contemplation. 

Secondly. Let us next see how this heavenly 
work is promoted by the particular exercise of the 
affections. It is by consideration that we first have 



358 AUXILIARIES OF 

recourse to the memory, and from thence take those 
heavenly doctrines which we intend to make the 
Eubject of our meditation; such as promises of eter- 
nal life, descriptions of the saints' glory, the resur- 
rection, &c. We then present them to our judg- 
ment, that it may deliberately view them over, and 
take an exact survey, and determine uprightly con- 
cerning the perfection of our celestial happiness, 
against all the dictates of flesh and sense, and so as 
to magnify the Lord in our hearts, till we are filled 
with a holy admiration. But the principal thing is 
to exercise, not merely our judgment, but our faith 
in the truth of our everlasting rest; by which I 
mean, both the truth of the promises, and of our 
own personal interest in them, and title to them. 
If we did really and firmly believe that there is 
such a glory, and that within a few days our eyes 
shall behold it, O what passions would it raise with- 
in us ! What astonishing apprehensions of that life 
would it produce ! What love, what longing would 
it excite w T ithin us ! O how it would actuate every 
affection i how it would transport us with joy, upon 
the least assurance of our title ! Never expect to 
have love and joy move, when faith stands still, 
which must lead the way. Therefore daily exer- 
cise faith, and set before it the freeness of the pro- 
mise, God's urging all to accept it, Christ's gra- 
cious disposition, all the evidences of the love of 
Christ, his faithfulness to his engagement, and the 



HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 359 

evidences of his love in ourselves ; lay all these to- 
gether, and think whether they do not testify the 
good will of the Lord concerning our salvation, and 
may not properly be pleaded against our unbelief. 
Thus, when the judgment hath determined, and 
faith hath apprehended the truth of our happiness, 
then may our meditation proceed to raise our affec- 
tions, and particularly love, desire, hope, courage or 
boldness, and joy. 

1. Love is the first affection to be excited in hea- 
venly contemplation ; the object of it is goodness. 
Here, Christian, is the soul-reviving part of thy 
work. Go to thy memory, thy judgment, and thy 
faith, and from them produce the excellencies of thy 
rest ; present these to thy affection of love, and thou 
wilt find thyself, as it were, in another world. Speak 
out, and love can hear. Do but reveal these things, 
and love can see. It is the brutish love of the world 
that is blind ; divine love is exceeding quick-sighted. 
Let thy faith take hold of thy heart, and show it the 
sumptuous buildings of thy eternal habitation, and 
the glorious ornaments of thy Father's house, even 
the mansions Christ is preparing, and the honors of 
his kingdom ; let thy faith lead thy heart into the 
presence of God, and as near as thou possibly canst, 
and say to it, " Behold the Ancient of Days, the 
Lord Jehovah, whose name is, I AM : this is he 
who made all the worlds with his word, who up- 
holds the earth, who rules the nations, who disposes 



3G0 AUXILIARIES OF 

of all events, who subdues his foes, who controls the 
swelling waves of the sea, who governs the winds, 
and causes the sun to run its race, and the stars to 
know their courses. This is he who loved thee 
from everlasting, formed thee in the womb, gave 
thee this soul, brought thee forth, showed thee the 
light, and ranked thee with the chief of his earthly 
creatures ; who endued thee with thy understanding, 
and beautified thee with his gifts; who maintains 
thy life and all its comforts, and distinguishes thee 
from the most miserable and vilest of men. O here 
is an object w r orthy thy love ! Here shouldst thou 
even pour out thy soul in love ! Here it is impossi- 
ble for thee to love too much ! This is the Lord 
who hath blessed thee with his benefits, ' spread tby 
table in the sight of thine enemies, and made thy 
cup overflow V This is he whom angels and saints 
praise, and the heavenly host for ever magnify !" 
Thus do thou expatiate on the praises of God, and 
open his excellencies to thine heart, till the holy fire 
of love begins to kindle in thy breast. 

If thou feelest thy love not yet burn, lead thy heart 
farther, and show it the Son of the living God, whose 
name is " Wonderful, Counsellor, the^mighty God, 
the everlasting Father, the Prince of peace :" show 
it the King of saints on the throne of his glory, " the 
First and the Last ; who is, and was, and is to come* 
who liveth, and w^as dead, and behold, he lives for 
evermore ; who hath made thy peace by the blood 



HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 361 

of his cross," and hath prepared thee with himself a 
habitation of peace : his office is the great peace- 
maker ; his kingdom is the kingdom of peace ; his 
Gospel is the tidings of peace ; his voice to thee now 
is the voice of peace ! Draw near, and behold him. 
Dost thou not hear his voice ? He that bade Tho- 
mas come near, and see the print of the nails, and 
put his finger into his wounds ; he it is that calls to 
thee, "Come near; and view the Lord thy Savior, 
and be not faithless, but believing ; peace be unto 
thee, fear not, it is I. Look well upon him. Dost 
thou not know him ? It is he that brought thee up 
from the pit of hell, reversed the sentence of thy dam- 
nation, bore the curse which thou shouldst have 
borne, restored thee to the blessing thou hadst for- 
feited, and purchased the advancement which thou 
must inherit for ever. And dost thou not yet know 
him ? His hands were pierced, his head, his side, 
his heart were pierced, that by these marks thou 
mightst always know him. Dost thou not remember 
when he " found thee lying in thy blood and took 
pity on thee, and dressed thy wounds, and brought 
thee home, and said unto thee, Live!" Hast thou 
forgotten, since he wounded himself to cure thy 
wounds, and let out his own blood to stop thy bleed- 
ing % If thou knowest him not by the face, the voice, 
the hands, thou mayst know him by that heart; that 
soul-pitying heart is his ; it can be none but his ; 
love and compassion are its certain signatures : this 

g | Saints' Rest. 



362 AUXILIARIES OF 

is he who chose thy life before his own ; who pleads 
his blood before his Father, and makes continual in- 
tercession for thee. If he had not suffered, what 
hadst thou suffered 1 There was but a step between 
thee and hell, when he stepped in, and bore the 
stroke. And is not here fuel enough for thy love to 
feed on ? Doth not thy throbbing heart stop here to 
ease itself, and, like Joseph, " seek for a place to 
weep in?" or do not the tears *of thy love bedew 
these lines ? Go on, then, for the field of love is 
large; it will be thy eternal work to behold and 
love ; nor needest thou want work for thy present 
meditation. 

How often hath thy Lord found thee, like Hagar, 
sitting, and weeping, and giving up thy soul for 
lost, and he opened to thee a well of consolation, 
and also opened thine eyes to see it ! How often, 
in the posture of Elijah, desiring to die out of thy 
misery, hath he spread thee a table of unexpected 
relief, and sent thee on his work refreshed and en- 
couraged ! How often, in the case of the prophet's 
servant, crying out, " Alas, what shall we do, for a 
host doth encompass us," hath he " opened thine 
eyes to see more for thee than against thee !" How 
often, like Jonah, peevish, and weary of thy life, 
hath he mildly said, " Doest thou well to be angry" 
with me, or murmur against me ? How often hath 
he set thee on " watching and praying," repenting 
and believing, " and, when he hath returned, hath 



HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 363 

found thee asleep;" and yet he hath covered thy 
neglect with a mantle of love, and gently pleaded 
for thee, that " the spirit is willing, but the flesh is 
weak !" Can thy heart be cold when thou thinkest 
of this ? Can it contain, when thou rememberest 
those boundless compassions ? Thus, reader, hold 
forth the goodness of Christ to thy heart ; plead thus 
with thy frozen soul, till, with David, thou canst say, 
" My heart was hot within me ; while I was musing, 
the fire burned." If this will not rouse up thy love, 
thou hast all Christ's personal excellencies to add, 
all his particular mercies to thyself, all his sweet 
and near relations to thee, and the happiness of thy 
everlasting abode with him. Only follow them close 
to thy heart. Deal with it as Christ did with Peter, 
when he thrice asked him, " Lovest thou me?" till 
he was grieved, and answered, " Lord, thou know- 
est that I love thee !" So grieve and shame thy heart 
out of its stupidity, till thou canst truly say, " I know 
and my Lord knows, that I love him." 

2. The next affection to be excited in heavenly 
contemplation is desire. The object of it is goodness 
considered as absent, or not yet attained. If love be 
hot, desire will not be cold. Think with thyself, 
" What have I seen ! O the incomprehensible glory ! 
O the transcendent beauty ! O blessed souls that now 
enjoy it ! who see a thousand times more clearly 
what I have seen at a distance, and through dark, 
interposing clouds. What a difference between my 



364 AUXILIARIES OP 

state and theirs ! I am sighing, and they are sing 
mg ; I am offending, and they are pleasing God. 
I am a spectacle of pity, like a Job or Lazarus ; but 
they are perfect, and without blemish. I am here 
entangled in the love of the world, while they are 
swallowed up in the love of God. They have none 
of my cares and fears ; they weep not in secret ; they 
languish not in sorrows; these 4 tears are wiped 
away from their eyes.' O happy, a thousand times 
happy souls ! Alas, that I must dwell in sinful flesh, 
when my brethren and companions dwell with God ! 
How far out of sight and reach of their high enjoy- 
ment do I here live ! What poor feeble thoughts 
have I of God ! What cold affections toward him ! 
How little have I of that life, that love, that joy, in 
which they continually live ! How soon doth that 
little depart, and leave me in thicker darkness ! Now 
and then a spark falls upon my heart, and, while I 
gaze upon it, it dies, or rather, my cold heart 
quenches it. But they have their * light in his light/ 
and drink continually at the spring of joys. Here 
we are vexing each other with quarrels, when they 
are of one heart and voice, and daily sound forth 
the hallelujahs of heaven with perfect harmony. O 
what a feast hath my faith beheld,. and what a famine 
is yet in my spirit ! O blessed souls ! I may not, I 
dare not, envy your happiness ; I rather rejoice in 
my brethren's prosperity, and am glad to think of 
the day when I shall be admitted into your fellow- 



HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 365 

ship. I wish not to displace you, but to be so happy 
as to be with you. Why must I stay, and weep, and 
wait ? My Lord is gone ; He hath left this earth, 
and is entered into his glory : my brethren are gone; 
my friends are there; my house, my hope, my all 
is there. When I am so far distant from my God, 
wonder not what aileth me, if I now complain ; an 
ignorant Micah will do so for his idol, and shall not 
my soul do so for the living God ? Had I no hope 
of enjoyment, I would go and hide myself in the de- 
serts, and lie and howl in some obscure wilderness, 
and spend my days in fruitless wishes ; but since it 
is the land of my appointed rest, and the state I must 
myself be advanced to, and my soul draws near, and 
is almost there, I will love and long, I will look and 
desire, I will be breathing, * How long, Lord ! how 
long wilt thou suffer this soul to pant and groan, 
and not open to him who waits, and longs to be with 
thee ! } " Thus, Christian reader, let thy thoughts 
aspire, till thy soul longs, as David, " O that one 
would give me to drink of the wells of salvation!" 
And till thou canst say, as he did, " I have longed 
for thy salvation, O Lord !" And as the mother and 
brethren of Christ, when they could not come at 
him because of the multitude, sent to him, saying 
" Thy mother and brethren stand without, desiring 
to see thee ;" so let thy message to him be, and he 
will own thee ; for he hath said, " They that hear 
my word, and do it, are my mother and my brethren." 
s. r. 31* 



366 AUXILIARIES OF 

3. Another affection to be exercised in heavenly 
contemplation, is hope. This helps to support the 
soul under sufferings, animates it to the greatest dif- 
ficulties, gives it firmness in the most shaking trials, 
enlivens it in duties, and is the very spring that sets 
all the wheels a-going. Who would believe, or strive 
for heaven, if it were not for the hope that he hath 
to obtain it ? Who would pray, but for the hope to 
prevail with God? If your hope dies, your duties 
die, your endeavors die, your joys die, and your 
soul dies. And if your hope be not in exercise, but 
asleep, it is next to dead. Therefore, Christian read- 
er, when thou art winding up thy affections to hea 
ven, forget not to give one lift to thy hope. Think 
thus, and reason thus with thy own heart : " Why 
should I not confidently and comfortably hope, when 
my soul is in the hands of so compassionate a Sa- 
vior, and when the kingdom is at the disposal of so 
bountiful a God ? Did he ever discover the least 
backwardness to my good, or inclination to my ruin? 
Hath he not sworn, that * he delights not in the 
death of him that dieth, but rather that he should 
repent and live?' Have not all his dealings wit- 
nessed the same ? Did he not mind me of my dan- 
ger when I never feared it, because he would have 
me escape it ? Did he not mind me of my happiness 
when I had no thoughts of it, because he would have 
me enjoy it ? How often hath he drawn me to him- 
self, and his Christ when I have drawn backward ! 



RFWENLY CONTEMPLATION, 367 

Flow hath Lis Spirit incessantly solicited my heart! 
And would he have done all this, if he had been 
willing that I should perish % Should I not hope, if 
an honest man had promised me something in his 
power ? And shall I not hope, when I have the co- 
venant and oath of God ? It is true, the glory is out 
of sight j we have not beheld the mansions of the 
saints ; but is not the promise of God more certain 
than our sight % We must not be saved by sight, 
but ' by hope ; and hope that is seen, is not hope ; 
for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for ? 
But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with 
patience wait for it.' I have been ashamed of my 
hope in an arm of flesh, but hope in the promise of 
God 4 maketh not ashamed.' In my greatest suffer- 
ings I will say, 'The Lord is my portion; there- 
fore will I hope in him. The Lord is good unto 
them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. 
It is good that a man should both hope and quietly 
wait for the salvation of the Lord ; for the Lord will 
not cast off for ever ; but though he cause grief, yet 
will he have compassion, according to the multitude 
of his mercies.' Though I languish and die, yet will 
I hope ; for * the righteous hath hope in his death.' 
Though I must lie down in dust and darkness, yet 
there x my flesh shall rest in hope.' And when my 
flesh hath nothing to rejoice in, yet will I ■ hold fast 
the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end ;' for 
1 the hope of the righteous shall be gladness.' In- 



368 AUXILIARIES OF 

deed, if I was myself to satisfy divine justice, then 
there had been no hope ; but Christ hath ' brought 
in a better hope, by the which we draw nigh unto 
God.' Or, if I had to do with a feeble creature, 
there were small hope ; for how could he raise this 
body from the dust, and lift me above the sun ? But 
what is this to the Almighty Power which made the 
heavens and the earth out of nothing 1 Cannot that 
power which raised Christ from the dead, raise me ? 
and that which hath glorified the Head, glorify also 
the members ? * Doubtless, by the blood of his cove- 
nant, God will send forth his prisoners out of the pit, 
wherein is no water :' therefore will I * turn to the 
strong hold, as a prisoner of hope.' " 

4. Courage, or boldness, is another affection to be 
exercised in heavenly contemplation : it leadeth to 
resolution, and concludeth in action. When you have 
raised your love, desire, and hope, go on, and think 
thus with yourself: " Will God indeed dwell with 
men ? And is there such a glory within the reach 
of hope? Why then do I not lay hold upon it? 
Where is the cheerful vigor of my spirit ? Why do 
I not 'gird up the loins of my mind?' Why do I 
not set upon my enemies on every side, and valiantly 
break through all resistance ? What should stop me, 
or intimidate me ? Is God with me, or against me, 
in the work ? Will Christ stand by me, or will he 
not ? ' If God and Christ be for me, who can be 
against me V In the work of sin, almost all things 



HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 



369 



arc ready to help us, and only God and his servants 
are against us ; yet how ill doth that work prosper 
in our hands ! But in my course to heaven, almost 
all things are against me, but God is for me ; and 
.herefore how happily doth the work succeed ! Do 
£ set upon this work in my own strength, or rather 
,n the strength of Christ my Lord ? And * cannot 
I do all things through him that strengthens me V 
Was he ever foiled by an enemy ? He hath indeed 
been assaulted, but was he ever conquered ? Why, 
then, doth my flesh urge me with the difficulties of 
the work ? Is any thing too hard for Omnipotence ? 
May not Peter boldly walk on the sea, if Christ give 
the word of command ? If he begin to sink, is it from 
the weakness of Christ, or from the smallness of his 
faith ? Do I not well deserve to be turned into hell, 
if mortal threats can drive me thither? Do I not 
well deserve to be shut out of heaven, if I will be 
frightened from thence with the reproach of tongues ? 
What if it were father, or mother, or husband, or 
wife, or the nearest friend I have in the world, if 
they may be called friends, that would draw me to 
damnation, should I not forsake all that would keep 
me from Christ ? Will their friendship countervail 
the enmity of God, or be any comfort to my con- 
demned soul ? Shall I be yielding to the desires of 
men, and only harden myself against the Lord? Let 
them beseech me upon their knees, I will scorn to 
stop my course to behold them, I will shut my ears 



370 AUXILIARIES OF 

to their cries : let them flatter or frown, let them 
draw out tongues and swords against me ; I am re- 
solved, in the strength of Christ, to break through, 
and look upon them as dust. If they would entice, 
me with preferment, even with the kingdoms of the 
world, I will no more regard them than the dung of 
the earth. O blessed rest ! O glorious state ! Wl\o 
would sell thee for dreams and shadows? Who 
would be enticed or affrighted from thee ? Who would 
not strive, and fight, and watch, and run, and that 
with violence, even to the last breath, in order to ob- 
tain thee ? Surely none but those that know thee 
not, and believe not thy glory." 

5. The last affection to be exercised in heavenly 
contemplation, is joy. Love, desire, hope, and cou- 
rage, all tend to raise our joy. This is so desirable 
to every man by nature, and so essentially necessary 
to constitute our happiness, that I hope I need not 
say much to persuade you to any thing that would 
make your life delightful. Supposing you, there- 
fore, already convinced that the pleasures of the flesh 
are brutish and perishing, that your solid and lasting 
joy must be from heaven, instead of persuading, I 
shall proceed in directing. Reader, if thou hast 
managed well the former work, thou art got within 
sight of thy rest ; thou believest the truth of it ; thou 
art convinced of its excellencies ; thou art fallen in 
love with it; thou longest after it; thou hopest for 
it ; and thou art resolved to venture courageously 



HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 371 

for obtaining it. But is here any work for joy in 
this ? We delight in the good we possess ; it is pre- 
sent good that is the object of joy ; and thou wilt say, 
" Alas, I am yet without it !" But think a little fur- 
ther with thyself. Is it nothing to have a deed of 
gift from God ? Are his infallible promises no ground 
of joy? Is it nothing to live in daily expectation of 
entering into the kingdom ? Is not my assurance of 
being hereafter glorified, a sufficient ground for in- 
expressible joy ? Is it not a delight to the heir of a 
kingdom to think of what he must soon possess, 
though at present he little differ from a servant ? 
Have we not both command and example for " re- 
joicing in hope of the glory of God?" 

Here then, reader, take thy heart once more, and 
carry it to the top of the highest mount ; show it the 
kingdom of Christ, and the glory of it ; and say to it, 
" All this will thy Lord give thee, who hast believed 
ii^him, and been a worshiper of him. • It is the Fa- 
ther's good pleasure to give thee this' kingdom.' 
Seest thou this astonishing glory which is above 
thee ? All this is thy own inheritance. This crown 
is thine, these pleasures are thine ; this company, 
this beautiful place, all are thine ; because thou art 
Christ's, and Christ is thine; when thou wast unit- 
ed to him, thou hadst all these with him." Thus 
take thy heart into the land of promise ; show it the 
pleasant hills and fruitful valleys ; show it the clus- 
ters of grapes which thou hast gathered, to convince 



372 AUXILIARIES OF 

it that it is a blessed land, flowing with better than 
milk and honey. Enter the gates of the holy city, 
walk through the streets of the " New Jerusalem, 
walk about Sion, and go round about her ; tell the 
towers thereof; mark well her bulwarks ; consider 
her palaces ; that thou mayst tell it to " thy soul. 
Hath it not " the glory of God," and is not " her 
light like unto a stone most precious, even like a 
jasper stone, clear as crystal?" See the "twelve 
foundations of her walls, and in them the names of 
the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And the building 
of the walls of it are of jasper ; and the city is pure 
gold, like unto clear glass ; and the foundations are 
garnished with all manner of precious stones. And 
the twelve gates are twelve pearls, every several gate 
is of one pearl, and the street of the city is pure gold, 
as it were transparent glass ; there is no temple in it, 
for the Lord God Almighty, and the Lamb, are the 
temple of it. It hath no need of the sun, neithejjpf 
the moon in it, for the glory of God doth lighten it, 
and the Lamb is the light thereof; and the nations 
of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it. 
These sayings are faithful and true ; and the Lord 
God of the holy prophets sent his angels," and his 
own Son, "to show unto his servants the things 
which must shortly be done." Say now to all this, 
" This is thy rest, O my soul ! and this must be the 
place of thy everlasting habitation." Let all the sons 
of " Sion rejoice ; let the daughters of Jerusalem be 



HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 373 

glad; for great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised 
m the city of our God, in the mountain of his holiness. 
Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is 
Mount Sion. God is known in her palaces for a 
refuge." 

Yet proceed on ; the soul that loves, ascends fre 
quently, and runs familiarly through the streets of 
the heavenly Jerusalem, visiting the patriarchs .and 
prophets, saluting the apostles, and admiring the ar- 
mies of martyrs ; so do thou lead on thy heart as 
from street to street ; bring it into the palace of the 
Great King; lead it, as it were, from chamber to 
chamber. Say to it, "Here must I lodge; here 
must I live ; here must I pTaise ; here must I love, 
and be beloved. I must shortly be one of this hea- 
venly choir, and be better skilled in the music, 
Among this blessed company must I take up my 
place ; my voice must join to make up the melody. 
My tears will then be wiped away ; my groans be 
turned to another tune; my cottage of clay be 
changed to this palace; my prison rags to these 
splendid robes ; and my sordid flesh shall be put off, 
and such a sunlike, spiritual body be put on ; ■ for 
the former things are here passed away.' * Glorious 
things are spoken of thee, O city of God V When I 
look upon this glorious place, what a dunghill and 
dungeon methinks is earth ! O what difference be- 
twixt a man, feeble, pained, groaning, dying, rotting 
in the grave, and one of these triumphant, shining 

qo Saints' Rest. 



374 AUXILIARIES OF 

saints i Here shall I ' drink of the river of plea- 
sures, the streams whereof make glad the city of 
God.' Must Israel, under the bondage of the law, 
* serve the Lord with joyfulness, and with gladness 
of heart, for the abundance of all things V Surely I 
shall serve him with joyfulness and gladness of 
heart for the abundance of glory. Did persecuted 
saints ' take joyfully the spoiling of their goods V 
And shall not I take joyfully such a full reparation 
of all my losses ? Was it a celebrated * day wherein 
the Jews rested from their enemies,' because it • was 
turned unto them from sorrow to joy, and from 
mourning into a good day V What a day, then, will 
that be to my soul, whose rest and change will be 
inconceivably greater ! ' When the wise men saw 
the star' that led to Christ, 'they rejoiced with ex- 
ceeding great joy ;' but I shall shortly see him, who 
is himself ' the bright and morning Star.' If the dis- 
ciples ' departed from the sepulchre with great joy, 1 
when they had but heard that their Lord ' was risen 
from the dead ;' what will be my joy, when I shall 
see him reigning in glory, and myself raised to a 
blessed communion with him ! Then shall I indeed 
have ' beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, 
and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness ; 
•and Sion shall be made an eternal excellency, a joy 
of many generations.' Why, then, do I not arise from 
the dust, and cease my complaints ? Why do I not 
trample on vain delights, and feed on the foreseen 



HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 375 

delights of glory ? Why is not my life a continual 
joy, and the savor of heaven perpetually upon my 
spirit?" 

Let me here observe, that there is no necessity to 
exercise these affections, either exactly in this order, 
or all at one time. Sometimes one of thy affections 
may need more exciting, or may be more lively than 
the rest ; or, if thy time be short, one may be exercised 
one day, and another upon the next ; all which must 
be left to thy prudence to determine. Thou hast also 
an opportunity, if inclined to make use of it, to exer- 
cise opposite and more mixed affections ;. such as 
hatred of sin, which would deprive thy soul of these 
immortal joys ; godly fear, lest thou shouldst abuse 
thy mercy; godly shame and grief, for having abused 
it; unfeigned repentance; self-indignation; jealousy 
over thy heart ; and pity for those who are in danger 
of losing these immortal joys. 

Thirdly. We are also to take notice how heaven- 
ly contemplation is promoted by soliloquy and pray- 
er. Though consideration be the chief instrument 
in this work, yet, by itself, it is not so likely to affect 
the heart. In this respect, contemplation is like 
preaching, where the mere explaining of truths and 
duties is seldom attended with such success as the 
lively application of them to the conscience ; and es- 
pecially when a divine blessing is earnestly sought 
ta accompany such application. 

1. By soliloquy, or a pleading the case with thy- 



376 AUXILIARIES OF 

self, thou must in thy meditation quicken thy own 
heart. Enter into a serious debate with it. Plead 
with it in the most moving and affecting language, 
and urge it with the most powerful and weighty ar- 
guments. It is what holy men of God have prac- 
ticed in all ages. Thus David: "Why art thou 
cast down, O my soul % and why art thou disquieted 
within me % Hope thou in God ; for I shall yet praise 
him, who is the health of my countenance, and my 
God." And again : " Bless the Lord, O my soul ! 
and all that is within me, bless his holy name ! Bless 
the Lord, O my soul ! and forget not all his bene- 
fits !" This soliloquy is to be made use of accord- 
ing to the several affections of the soul, and accord- 
ing to its several necessities. It is a preaching to 
one's self; for as every good master or father of a 
family is a good preacher to his own family, so every 
good Christian is a good preacher to his own soul. 
Therefore the very same method which a minister 
should use in his preaching to others, every Chris- 
tian should endeavor after in speaking to himseif. 
Observe the matter and manner of the most heart- 
affecting minister ; let him be as a pattern for your 
imitation ; and the same way that he takes with the 
hearts of his people, do thou also take with thy own 
heart. Do this in thy heavenly contemplation ; ex* 
plain to thyself the things on which thou dost medi 
tate ; confirm thy faith in them by Scripture ; and 
then apply them to thyself, according to their nature 



HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION. 377 

and thy own necessity. There is no need to object 
against this, from a sense of thy own inability. Doth 
not God command thee to " teach the Scriptures dili- 
gently unto thy children, and talk of them when 
thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest 
by the way, and when thou liest down, and when 
thou risest up?" And if thou must have some abi- 
lity to teach thy children, much more to teach thy- 
self; and if thou canst talk of divine things to others, 
why not also to thy own heart ? 

2. Heavenly contemplation is also promoted by 
speaking to God in prayer, as well as by speaking 
to ourselves in soliloquy. Ejaculatory prayer may 
very properly be mixed with meditation, as a part 
of the duty. How often do we find David, in the 
same psalm, sometimes pleading with his soul, and 
sometimes with God ! The apostle bids us " speak 
to ourselves in psalms, and hymns, and spiritual 
songs ;" and no doubt we may also speak to God in 
them. This keeps the soul sensible of the divine 
presence, and tends greatly to quicken and raise it 
As God is the highest object of our thoughts, so our 
viewing him, speaking to him, and pleading with 
him, more elevates the soul and excites the affec- 
tions than any other part of meditation. Though we 
remain unaffected while we plead the case with 
ourselves ; yet, when we turn our speech to God, it 
may strike us with awe ; and the holiness and ma- 
jesty of him whom we speak to, may cause both the 

s. r. 32* 



378 AUXILIARIES, &c 

matter and words to pierce the deeper. When we 
read that " Isaac went out to meditate in the field," 
the margin says, " to pray ;" for the Hebrew word 
signifies both. Thus, in our meditations, to inter- 
mix soliloquy and prayer, sometimes speaking to our 
own hearts, and sometimes to God, is, I apprehend, 
the highest step we can advance to in this heavenly 
work. Nor should we imagine it will be as well to 
take up with prayer alone, and lay aside meditation ; 
for they are distinct duties, and must both of them 
be performed. We need one as well as the other, 
and therefore shall wrong ourselves by neglecting 
either. Besides, the mixture of them, like music, 
will be more engaging ; as the one serves to put 
life into the other. And our speaking to ourselves 
in meditation, should go before our speaking to God 
in prayer. For want of attending to this due or- 
der, men speak to God with far less reverence and 
affection than they would speak to an angel, if he 
should appear to them ; or to a judge, if they were 
speaking for their lives. Speaking to the God of 
heaven in prayer, is a weightier duty than most are 
aware of. 



CONTEMPLATION ASSISTED, &C. 379 

CHAPTER XV. 

HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION ASSISTED BY SENSIBLE OBJECTS, 
AND GUARDED AGAINST A TREACHEROUS HEART. 

B is difficult to maintain a lively impression of heavenly 
things : therefore, I. Heavenly contemplation may be assist- 
ed by sensible objects ; 1. If we draw strong suppositions from 
sense ; and, 2. if we compare the objects of sense with the ob- 
jects of faith. II. Heavenly contemplation may also be guard* 
ed against a treacherous heart, by considering, 1. The 
great backwardness of the heart to this duty ; 2. its trifling 
in it; 3. its wandering from it ; and, 4. Us too abruptly 
putting an end to it. 

The most difficult part of heavenly contempla^ 
tion is, to maintain a lively sense of heavenly things 
upon our hearts. It is easier merely to think of 
heaven a whole day, than to be lively and affection- 
ate in those thoughts a quarter of an hour. Faith 
is imperfect — for we are renewed but in part — and 
goes against a world of resistance ; and, being su- 
pernatural, is prone to decline and languish, unless 
it be continually excited. Sense is strong according 
to the strength of the flesh ; and, being natural, con- 
tinues while nature continues. The objects of faith 
are far off; but those of sense are nigh. We must go 
as far as heaven for our joys. To rejoice in what 
we never saw, nor ever knew the man that did 
see, and this upon a mere promise in the Bible, is 



380 CONTEMPLATION ASSISTED 

not so easy as to rejoice in what we see and pos- 
sess. It must, therefore, be a point of spiritual pru- 
dence, to call in sense to the assistance of faith. It 
will be a good work, if we can make friends of these 
usual enemies, and make them instruments for rais- 
ing us to God, which are so often the means of 
drawing us from him. Why hath God given us 
either our sense or their common objects, if they 
might not be serviceable to his praise ? Why doth 
the Holy Spirit describe the glory of the New Jeru- 
salem in expressions that are even grateful to the 
flesh ? Is it that we might think heaven to be made 
of gold and pearl ? or that saints and angels eat 
and drink ? No, but to help us to conceive of them 
as we are able, and to use these borrowed phrases 
as a glass, in which we must see the things them- 
selves imperfectly represented, till we come to an 
immediate and perfect sight. And, besides showing 
how heavenly contemplation may be assisted by 
sensible objects, this chapter will also show how it 
may be preserved from a wandering heart. 

First. In order that heavenly contemplation may 
be assisted by sensible objects, let me only advise to 
draw strong suppositions from sense, and to com- 
pare the objects of sense with the objects of faith. 

1. For the helping of thy affections in heavenly 
contemplation, draw as strong suppositions as possi- 
ble from thy senses. Think on the joys above, as 
boldly as Scripture hath expressed them. Biing 



BY SENSIBLE OBJECTS. 381 

down thy conceptions to the reach of sense. Both 
love and joy are promoted by familiar acquaintance. 
When we attempt to think of God and glory, with- 
out the Scripture's manner of representing them, we 
are lost, and have nothing to fix our thoughts upon ; 
we set them so far from us, that our thoughts are 
strange, and we are ready to say, what is above us 
is nothing to us. To conceive of God and glory 
only as above our conception, will beget but little 
love; or above our love, will produce little joy. 
Therefore put Christ no farther from you than he 
hath put himself, lest the divine nature be again in- 
accessible. Think of Christ as in our own glorified 
nature. Think of glorified saints as men made per- 
fect. Suppose thyself a companion with John, in 
his survey of the New Jerusalem, and viewing the 
thrones, the majesty, the heavenly hosts, the shining 
splendor which he saw. Suppose thyself his fellow- 
traveler into the celestial kingdom, and that thou 
hadst seen all the saints in their white robes, w r ith 
" palms in their hands ;" and that thou hadst heard 
those " songs of Moses and of the Lamb." If thou 
hadst really seen and heard these things, in what a 
rapture wouldst thou have been ! And the more se- 
riously thou puttest this supposition to thyself, the 
more will thy meditation elevate thy heart. Do not, 
like the Papists, draw them in pictures ! but get the 
liveliest picture of them in thy mind that thou possi- 
bly canst, by contemplating the Scripture account of 



382 CONTEMPLATION ASSISTED 

them, till thou canst say, " Methinks I see a glimpse 
of glory ! Methinks I hear the shouts of joy and 
praise, and even stand by Abraham and David. Pe- 
ter and Paul, and other triumphant souls ! Methinks 
I even see the Son of God appearing in the clouds, 
and the world standing at his bar to receive their 
doom ; and hear him say, ' Come, ye blessed of my 
Father ;' and see them go rejoicing into the joy of 
their Lord ! My very dreams of these things have 
sometimes greatly affected me ; and should not thes-e 
just suppositions much more affect me? What if I 
had seen, with Paul, those 4 unutterable things V 
Or, with Stephen, had seen * heaven opened, and 
Christ sitting at the right hand of God V Surely 
that one sight was worth his storm of stones. What 
if I had seen, as Micaiah did, ' the Lord sitting upon 
his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his 
right hand, and on his left V Such things did these 
men of God see ; and I shall shortly see far more 
than ever they saw, till they were loosed from the 
flesh, as I must be." Thus you see how it excites 
our affections in this heavenly work, if we make 
strong and familiar suppositions, from our bodily 
senses, concerning the state of blessedness, as the 
Spirit hath in condescending language expressed it. 
2. The other way in which our senses may pro- 
mote this heavenly work, is by comparing the ob- 
jects of sense with the objects of faith. As for in- 
stance : You may strongly argue with your hea rts 



BY SENSIBLE OBJECTS. 383 

from the corrupt delights of sensual men to the joys 
above. Think with yourselves, " Is it such a delight 
to a sinner to do wickedly ? and will it not be de- 
lightful indeed to live with God? Hath the drunk- 
ard such delights in his cups, that the fears of dam- 
nation will not make him forsake them ? Will the 
whoremonger rather part with his credit, estate, and 
salvation, than with his brutish delights ? If the way 
to hell can afford such pleasure, what then are the 
pleasures of the saints in heaven ! If the covetous 
man hath so much pleasure in his wealth, and the 
ambitious man in places of power and titles of ho- 
nor, what then have the saints in everlasting trea- 
sures, and in heavenly honors, where we shall be 
set above principalities and powers, and be made the 
glorious spouse of Christ ! How delightfully will 
the voluptuous follow their recreations from morn- 
ing till night, or sit at their cards and dice nights 
and days together ! O the delight we shall have, 
when we come to our rest, m beholding the face of 
the living God, and in singing forth praises unto 
him and the Lamb!" Compare also the delights 
above with the lawful and moderate delights of 
sense. Think with thyself, " How sweet is food to 
my taste when I am hungry ; especially if it be, as 
Isaac said, * such as I love,' which my temperance 
and appetite incline to ! What delight, then, must 
my soul have in feeding upon * Christ, the living 
bread,' and in * eating with him at his table in his 



384 CONTEMPLATION ASSISTED 

kingdom f Was a mess of pottage so sweet to Esau 
in his hunger, that he would buy it at so dear a rate 
as his birthright ? How highly, then, should I value 
this never-perishing food ! How pleasant is drink in 
the extremity of thirst ; scarcely to be expressed ; 
enough to make the * strength of Samson revive I' 

how delightful will it be to my soul to drink of 
that * fountain of living water, which whoso drink- 
eth it shall thirst no more !' How delightful are 
grateful odors to the smell ; or music to the ear ; or 
beautiful sights to the eye ! What fragrance, then, 
hath 'the precious ointment which is poured on the 
head' of our glorified Savior, and which must be 
poured on the head of all his saints, and will fill all 
heaven with its odor ! How delightful is the music 

1 of the heavenly host !' How pleasing will be those 
real beauties above ! How glorious the 'building not 
made with hands,' the house that God himself dwells 
in, the walks and prospects in * the city of God,' and 
the celestial paradise I" 

Compare, also, the delights above with those we 
find in natural knowledge. These are far beyond 
the delights of sense; but how much farther are the 
delights of heaven ! Think, then, " Can. an Archime- 
des be so taken up with his mathematical invention, 
that the threats of death cannot disengage him, but 
he will die in the midst of his contemplations? 
Should not I be much more taken up with the de- 
lights of glory, and die with these contemplations 



BY SENSIBLE OBJECTS. 385 

fresh upon my soul ; especially when my death will 
perfect my delights, while those of Archimedes die 
with him ? What exquisite pleasure is it to dive in- 
to the secrets of nature, and find out the mysteries 
of arts and sciences ; especially if we make a new 
discovery in any one of them ! What high delights 
are .there, then, in the knowledge of God and 
Christ ! If the face of human learning be so beau- 
tiful as to make sensual pleasures appear base and 
brutish, how beautiful, then, is the face of God ! 
When we meet with some choice book, how could 
we read it day and night, almost forgetful of meat, 
drink, or sleep ! What delights are there, then, at 
God's right hand, where we shall know in a mo- 
ment all that is to be known !' ? — Compare, also, the 
delights above with the delights of morality and of 
the natural affections. What delight had many so- 
ber heathens in the rules and practice of moral du- 
ty, so that they took him alone for an honest man, 
who did well tli rough the love of virtue, and not 
merely for fear of punishment ; yea, so much va- 
lued was this moral virtue, that they thought a man's 
chief happiness consisted in it ! Think, then, " What 
excellency will there be in our heavenly perfec- 
tion, and in that uncreated perfection of God which 
we shall behold ! What sweetness is there in the 
exercise of natural love, whether to children, pa- 
rents, yoke-fellows, or intimate friends ! Does David 
say of Jonathan, * Thy love to me was wonderful, 

33 Saints' Rest. 



386 CONTEMPLATION ASSISTED 

passing the love of women?' Did 'the soul of 
Jonathan cleave to David?' Had Christ himself 
one ' disciple whom he especially loved, and who 
was wont to lean on his breast V If, then, the de- 
lights of close and cordial friendship be so great, 
what delight shall we have in the friendship of the 
Most High, and in our mutual intimacy with Jesus 
Christ, and in the dearest love of the saints ! Sure- 
ly this will be a stricter friendship than these, more 
lovely and desirable friends than ever* the sun be- 
held ; and both our affections to our Father and Sa- 
vior, and especially theirs to us, will be such as w& 
never knew here. If one angel could destroy a 
host, the affections of spirits must also be propor- 
tionably stronger, so that we shall then love a thou- 
sand times more ardently than we can now. As all 
the attributes and works of God are incomprehensi- 
ble, so is this of love : he will love us infinitely be- 
yond our most perfect love to Him. What, then, 
will there be in this mutual love !" 

Compare also the excellencies of heaven with 
those glorious works of creation which our eyes 
now behold. What wisdom, power, and goodness 
are manifested therein ! How does the majesty of 
the Creator shine in this fabric of the world ! " His 
works are great, sought out of all them that have 
pleasure therein." What divine skill in forming the 
bodies of men or beasts ! What excellency in every 
plant ! What beauty in flowers ! What variety and 



BY SENSIBLE OBJECTS. 387 

usefulness in herbs, plants, fruits, and minerals! 
What wonders are contained in the earth and its in- 
habitants ; the ocean of waters, with its motions and 
dimensions ; and the constant succession of spring 
and autumn, of summer and winter ! Think, then, 
44 If these things, which are but servants to sinful 
man, are so full of mysterious worth, what is that 
place where God himself dwells, and which is pre- 
pared for just men made perfect with Christ ! What 
glory is there in the least of yonder stars ! What 
a vast resplendent body is yonder moon, and every 
planet ! What an inconceivable glory hath the sun ! 
But all this is nothing to the glory of heaven. Yon - 
der sun must there be laid aside as useless. Yonder 
sun is but darkness to the lustre of my Father's 
house. I shall myself be as glorious as that sun. 
This whole earth is but my Father's footstool. This 
thunder is nothing to his dreadful voice. These 
winds are nothing to the breath of his mouth. If 
the ' sending rain, and making the sun to rise on the 
just and on the unjust,' be so wonderful, how much 
more wonderful and glorious will that Sun be, 
which must shine on none but saints and angels I" 
Compare also the enjoyments above with the won- 
ders of Providence m the church and the world, 
W T ould it not be an astonishing sight to see " the sea 
stand as a wall on the right hand and on the left, 
and the dry land appear in the midst, and the peo- 
ple of Israel pass safely through, and Pharaoh and 



338 CONTEMPLATION ASSISTED 

his host drowned ? or to have seen the ten plagues 
of Egypt ? or the rock gushing forth streams ? or 
manna and quails rained from heaven ? or the earth 
opening and swallowing up the wicked? But we 
shall see far greater things than these; not only 
sights more wonderful, but more delightful ! there 
shall be no blood, nor wrath, intermingled; nor 
shall we cry out, as " the men of Beth-shemesh, 
Who is able to stand before this holy Lord God ?" 
How astonishing to see the sun stand still in the fir- 
mament, or "the dial of Ahaz go back ten degrees!" 
But we shall see when there shall be no sun ; or 
rather shall behold for ever a Sun of infinitely great- 
er brightness. What a life should we have, if we 
could have drought or rain at our prayers ; or have 
lire from heaven to destroy our enemies, as Elijah 
had ; or raise the dead, as Elisha ; or miraculously 
cure diseases, and speak all languages, as the apos- 
tles ! Alas, these are nothing to the wonders we 
shall see and possess with God ; and all of them 
wonders of goodness and love ! We shall ourselves 
be the subjects of more wonderful mercies than any 
of these. Jonah was raised but from a three days' 
burial in the belly of a fish ; but we shall be rais- 
ed from many years' rottenness and dust ; and that 
dust exalted to the glory of the sun; and that 
glory perpetuated through eternity. Surely, if we 
observe but common providences, as the motions 
cf the sun ; the tides of the sea ; the standing of 



BY SENSIBLE OBJECTS. 



389 



the earth ; the watering it with rain, as a garden ; 
the keeping in order a wicked, confused world; 
with many others, they are all admirable. But what 
are these to the Sion of God, the vision of the di- 
vine Majesty, and the order of the heavenly host ? — 
Add to these, those particular providences which 
thou hast thyself enjoyed and recorded through thy 
life, and compare them with the mercies thou shalt 
have above. Look over the mercies of thy youth 
and riper age, of thy prosperity and adversity, of 
thy several places and relations ; are they not ex- 
cellent and innumerable, rich and engaging ? How 
sweet was it to thee, when God resolved thy doubts ; 
scattered thy fears ; prevented the inconveniences 
into which thy own counsel would have cast thee ; 
eased thy pains ; healed thy sickness ; and raised 
thee up, as from death and the grave ! Think, then, 
" Are all these so sweet and precious, that without 
them my life would have been a perpetual misery ? 
Hath his providence on earth lifted me so high, 
'and his gentleness made me so great? 3 How 
sweet, then, will his glorious presence be ! How 
high will his eternal love exalt me ! And how great 
shall I be made in communion with his greatness ! 
If my pilgrimage and warfare have such mercies, 
what shall I find in my home, and in my triumph ! 
If God communicates so much to me while I remain 
a sinner, what will he bestow when I am a perfect- 
ed saint ! If I have had so much at such a distance 

33* 



s. R. 



390 CONTEMPLATION ASSISTED 

from him, what shall I have in his immediate pre- 
sence, where I shall ever stand before his throne!" 
Compare the joys above with the comforts thou 
hast here received in ordinances. Hath not the Bi- 
ble been to thee as an open fountain, flowing with 
comforts day and night? What suitable promises 
have come into thy mind ; so that, with David, thou 
mayst say, " Unless thy law had been my delight, 
I should then have perished in mine affliction V* 
Think, then, " If his word be so full of consolations, 
what overflowing springs shall we find in God him- 
self! If his letters are so comfortable, what will the 
glory of his presence be ! If the promise is so sweet, 
what will the performance be ! If the testament of 
our Lord, and our charter for the kingdom, be so 
comfortable, what will be our possession of the king- 
dom itself!" — Think farther, "What delights have 
I also found in the word preached ! When I have 
sat under a heavenly, heart-searching teacher, how 
hath my heart been warmed ! Methinks I have felt 
myself almost in heaven. How often have I gone 
to the congregation, troubled in spirit, and returned 
joyful ! How often have I gone doubting, and God 
Jiath sent me home persuaded of his love in Christ ! 
What cordials have I met with to animate me in 
every conflict ! If but the face of Moses shine so 
gloriously, what glory is there in the face of God ! 
If ' the feet of them that publish peace, that bring 
good tidings of salvation, be beautiful,' how beauti- 



BY SENSIBLE OBJECTS. 391 

ful is ihe face of the Prince of peace ! If this treasure 
be so precious in earthen vessels, what is that trea 
sure laid up in heaven ! Blessed are the eyes that 
see what is seen there, and the ears that, hear the 
things that are heard there. There shall I hear Eli* 
jah, Isaiah, Jeremiah, John, Peter, Paul ; not preach- 
ing to gainsayers, in imprisonment, persecution, and 
reproach ; but triumphing in the praises of him that 
hath raised them to honor and glory." — Think also, 
" What joy is it to have access and acceptance in 
prayer ; that I may always go to God, and open my 
case, and unbosom my soul to him, as to my most 
faithful friend ! But it will be a more unspeakable 
joy, when I shall receive all blessings without ask 
ing, and all my necessities and miseries will be re- 
moved, and when God himself will be the portion 
and inheritance of my soul." — -As for the Lord's 
supper, " What a privilege is it to be admitted to sit 
at his table, to have his covenant sealed to me there ! 
But all the life and comfort there, is to assure me 
of the comforts hereafter. O the difference between 
the last supper of Christ on earth, and the marriage 
supper of the Lamb at the great day ! Then his 
room will be the glorious heavens ; his attendants, 
all the hosts of angels and saints ; no Judas, no un- 
furnished guest comes there ; but the humble be- 
lievers must sit down by him, and their feast will 
be their mutual loving and rejoicing." — Concerning 
the communion of saints, think with thyself, " What 



392 CONTEMPLATION ASSISTED 

a pleasure is it to live with intelligent and heavenly 
Christians ! David says of such, * they were .all his 
delight.' O what a delightful society, then, shall I 
have above ! Had I but seen Job on the dunghill, 
what a mirror of patience ! and what will it be to 
see him in glory ! How delightful to have heard 
Paul and Silas singing in the stocks ! how much 
more to hear them sing praises in heaven ! What 
melody did David make on his harp ! but how much 
more melodious to hear that sweet singer in the hea- 
venly choir ! What would I have given for an hour's 
free converse with Paul, when he was just come 
down from the third heaven ! But I must shortly 
see those things myself, and possess what I see." — 
Once more, think of praising God in concert with 
his saints : " What if I had been in the place of 
those shepherds who saw and heard the heavenly 
host singing, * Glory to God in the highest, and on 
earth peace, good will towards men !' But I shall 
see and hear more glorious things. How blessed 
should I have thought myself, had I heard Christ 
in his thanksgivings to his Father ! How much 
more, when I shall hear him pronounce me blessed ! 
If there was such joy at bringing back the ark, or 
at rebuilding the temple ; what will there be in the 
New Jerusalem ! If the earth rent when the people 
rejoiced at Solomon's coronation; what a joyful 
shout will there be at the appearing of the King of 
the church ! If, * when the foundations of the earth 



BY SENSIBLE OBJECTS. 393 

were laid, the morning stars sang together, and all 
the sons of God shouted for joy; 5 what a joyful 
song will there be, when the world of glory is both 
founded and finished, when the top-stone is laid, and 
when ' the holy city is adorned as the bride, the 
Lamb's wife!'" 

Compare the joys thou shalt have in heaven with 
what the saints have found in the way to it, and in 
the foretastes of it. When did God ever reveal the 
least of himself to any of his saints, but the joy of 
their hearts was answerable to the revelation ? In 
what an ecstacy was Peter on the mount of transfi- 
guration ! " Master," says he, " it is good for us to 
be here : let us make three tabernacles ; one for 
thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias." As if 
he had said, " O let us not go down again to yonder 
persecuting rabble; let us not return to our mean 
and suffering state. Is it not better to stay here, 
now we are here 1 Is not here better company, and 
sweeter pleasure V 1 How was Paul lifted up with 
what he saw ! How did the face of Moses shine, 
when he had been talking with God ! These were 
all extraordinary foretastes ; but little to the full be- 
atifical vision. How often have we read and heard 
of dying saints who have been full of joy ; and when 
their bodies have felt the extremity of sickness and 
pain, have had so much of heaven in their spirits, 
that their joy hath far exceeded their sorrows ! If a 
spark of this fire be so glorious even amidst the sea 



394 CONTEMPLATION AGISTED 

of adversity ; what then is glory itself! O the joy 
that the martyrs have felt in the names ! They were 
flesh and blood, as well as we ; it must therefore be 
some excellent thing that filled their spirits with joy 
while their bodies were burning. Think, reader, in 
thy meditations, " Sure it must be some wonderful 
foretaste of glory that made the flames of fire easy, 
and the king of terrors welcome. What then is glory 
itself! What a blessed rest, when the thoughts of it 
made Paul desire to depart, and be with Christ ; and 
make the saints never think themselves well, till 
they are dead ! Shall Saunders embrace the stake, 
and cry, Welcome, cross ! And shall I not more 
delightfully embrace my blessedness, and cry, Wel- 
come, crown 1 Shall Bradford kiss the fagot, and 
shall not I kiss the Savior ? Shall another poor mar- 
tyr rejoice to have her foot in the same hole of the 
stocks in which Mr. Philpot's had been before her? 
And shall not I rejoice that my soul shall live in 
the same place of glory where Christ and his apos- 
tles are gone before me ? Shall fire and fagot, pri- 
sons and banishment, cruel mockings and scourg- 
ings, be more welcome to others than Christ and 
glory to me? God forbid !" 

Compare the glory of the heavenly kingdom with 
the glory of the church on earth, and of Christ in 
his state of humiliation. If Christ's suffer ing in the 
room of sinners had such excellency, what is Christ 
at his Father's right hand ! If the church under her 



BY SENSIBLE OBJECTS. 395 

sins and enemies have so much beauty, what will 
she have at the marriage of the Lamb ! How won- 
derful was the Son of God in the form of a servant! 
When he is born, a new star must appear, and con- 
duct the strangers to worship him in a manger, hea- 
venly hosts with their songs must celebrate his nati- 
vity ; while a child, he must dispute with doctors ; 
when he enters upon his office, he turns water into 
wine, feeds thousands with a few loaves and fishes, 
cleanses the lepers, heals the sick, restores the lame, 
gives sight to the b}ind, and raises the dead. How 
wonderful, then, is his celestial glory ! If there be 
such cutting down of boughs, and spreading of gar- 
ments, and crying Hosanna, for one that comes into 
Jerusalem riding on an ass; what will there be 
when he comes with his angels in his glory ! If 
they that heard him " preach the Gospel of the king- 
dom," confess, " Never man spake like this man :" 
they, then, that behold his majesty in his kingdom, 
will say, " There was never glory like this glory." 
If, when his enemies came to apprehend him, they 
fell to the ground ; if, when he is dying, the earth 
quakes, the veil of the temple is rent, the sun is 
eclipsed, the dead bodies of the saints arise, and the 
standers-by acknowledge, " Verily this was the Son 
of God;" O what a day will it be, when the dead 
must all arise, and stand before him ! when he " will 
once shake, not the earth only, but the heavens also ! 
when this sun shall be taken out of the firmament, 



396 CONTEMPLATION ASSISTED 

and be everlastingly darkened with his glory ! and 
when every tongue shall confess him to he the 
Lord and King ! If, when he rose again, death and 
the grave lost their power; if angels must "roll 
away the stone," terrify the keepers till they are "as 
dead men," and send the tidings to his disciples ; if 
he ascend to heaven in their sight ; what power, do- 
minion, and glory is he now possessed of, and which 
we must for ever possess with him ! When he is 
gone, can a few poor fishermen and tent-makers cure 
the lame, blind, and sick, open prisons, destroy the 
disobedient, raise the dead, and astonish their adver- 
saries % what a world will that be, where every one 
can do greater works than these ! If the preach- 
ing of the Gospel be accompanied with such power 
as to discover the secrets of the heart, humble the 
proud sinner, and make the most obdurate trem- 
ble ; if it can make men burn their books, sell their 
lands, bring in the price, and lay it down at the 
preacher's feet ; if it can convert thousands, and turn 
the world upside down ; if its doctrine, from the pri- 
soner at the bar, can make the judge on the bench 
tremble ; if Christ and his saints have this power 
and honor in the day of their abasement, and in the 
time appointed for their suffering and disgrace, what 
then will they have in their absolute dominion, and 
full advancement in their kingdom of glory ! 

Compare the glorious change thou shalt have at 
last, with the gracious change which the Spirit hath 



BV SENSIBLE OBJECTS. 397 

here wrought on thy heart. There is not the small- 
est sincere grace in thee, but is of greater worth than 
the riches of the Indies ; not a hearty desire after 
Christ, but is more to be valued than the kingdoms 
of the world. A renewed nature is the very ima°-e 
of God ; Christ dwelling in us, and the Spirit of 
God abiding in us : it is a beam from the face of 
God ; the seed of God remaining in us ; the only 
inherent beauty of the rational soul: it ennobles 
man above all nobility ; fits him to understand his 
Maker's pleasure, do his will, and receive his glory. 
If this grain of mustard-seed be so precious, what is 
" the tree of life in the midst of the paradise of God !" 
If a spark of life, which will but strive against cor- 
ruptions, and flame out a few desires and groans, be 
of so much worth, how glorious then is the fountain 
of this life ! If we are said to be like God, when we 
are pressed down with a body of sin ; sure we shall 
be much more like God, when we have no such 
thing as sin within us. Is the desire after, and love 
of heaven, so excellent ; what then is the thing it- 
self? Is our joy in foreseeing and believing so sweet ; 
what will be the joy of full possession % How glad 
is a Christian when he feels his heart begin to melt, 
and be dissolved with the thoughts of sinful unkincl- 
ness ! Even this sorrow yields him joy. O what, 
then, will it be, when we shall know, and love, and 
rejoice, and praise in the highest perfection ! Think 
with thyself, " What a change was it, to be taken 

2^ Saints' Rest. 



398 CONTEMPLATION ASSISTED 

from that state wherein I was born, and in w hich I 
was riveted by custom, when thousands of sins lay 
upon my score ; and if I had so died, I had been 
damned for ever ! What an astonishing change, to 
be justified from all these enormous crimes, and 
freed from all these fearful plagues, and made an 
heir of heaven ! How often, when I have thought 
of my regeneration, have I cried out, O blessed day I 
and blessed be the Lord that ever I saw it ! How 
then, shall I cry out in heaven, O blessed eternity ! 
and blessed be the Lord that brought me to it ! Did 
the angels of God rejoice to see my conversion? 
surely they will congratulate my felicity in my sal- 
vation. Grace is but a spark raked up in the ashes, 
covered with flesh from the sight of the world, and 
sometimes covered with corruption from my own 
sight ; but my everlasting glory will not be so cloud- 
ed, nor my light be ' under a bushel, but upon a 
hill,' even upon mount Sion, the mount of God." 

Once more, compare the joys which thou shalt 
have above, with those foretastes of it which the Spi- 
rit hath given thee here. Hath not God sometimes 
revealed himself extraordinarily to thy soul, and let 
a drop of glory fall upon it % Hast thou not been 
ready to say, " O that it might be thus with my soul 
continually !" Didst thou never cry out with the 
martyr, after thy long and mournful expectations, 
11 He is come ! he is come !" Didst thou never, un- 
der a lively sermon of heaven, or in thy retired con- 



BY SENSIBLE OBJECTS. 399 

temptations on that blessed state, perceive thy droop- 
ing spirits revive, and thy dejected heart lift up thy 
head, and the light of heaven dawn on thy soul I 
Think with thyself, " What is this earnest to the 
full inheritance ! Alas, all this light, that so amazeth 
and rejoiceth me, is but a candle lighted from hea- 
ven, to lead me thither through this world of dark- 
ness ! If some godly men have been overwhelmed 
with joy till they have cried out, ' Hold, Lord, stay 
thy hand ; I can bear no more !' what then will be 
my joys in heaven, when my soul shall be so capa- 
ble of seeing and enjoying God, that though the light 
be ten thousand times greater than the sun, yet my 
eyes shall be able for ever to behold it !' 7 Or if thou 
hast not yet felt these sweet foretastes, (for every be- 
liever hath not felt them,) then make use of such 
delights as thou hast felt, in order the better to dis- 
cern what thou shalt hereafter feel. 

Secondly. I am now to show how heavenly con 
temptation may be preserved from a wandering heart. 
Our chief work here is to discover the danger, and 
that will direct to the fittest remedy. The heart will 
prove the greatest hinderance in this heavenly em- 
ployment; either, by backwardness to it; — or, by 
trifling in it ; — or, by frequent excursions to other 
objects ; — or, by abruptly ending the work before it is 
well begun. As you value the comfort of this work, 
these dangerous evils must be faithfully resisted. 

1. Thou wilt find thy heart as backward to this, 



400 CONTEMPLATION ASSISTED 

I think, as to any work in the world. O what ex- 
cuses will it make ! What evasions will it find out ! 
What delays and demurs, when it is ever so much 
convinced ! Either it will question whether it be a 
duty or not ; or, if it be so to others, whether to thy* 
self. It will tell thee, " This is a work for minis- 
ters that have nothing else to study ; or, for persons 
that have more leisure than thou hast." If thou be 
a minister, it will tell thee, " This is the duty of the 
people ; it is enough for thee to meditate for their 
instruction, and let them meditate on what they have 
heard." As if it was thy duty only to cook their meat 
and serve it up, and they alone must eat it, digest it, 
and live upon it. If all this will not do, thy heart 
will tell thee of other business, or set thee upon some 
other duty ; for it had rather go to any duty than 
this. Perhaps it will tell thee, " Other duties are 
greater, and therefore this must give place to them, 
because thou hast no time for both. Public business 
is more important; to study and preach for the sav- 
ing of souls, must be preferred before these private 
contemplations." As if thou hadst not time to care 
for thy own salvation, for looking after that of others ; 
or thy charity to others were so great, that it obliges 
thee to neglect thy own eternal welfare ; or as if 
there was any better way to fit us to be useful to 
others, than making this proof of our doctrine our 
selves. Certainly heaven is the best fire to light 
our candle at, and the best book for a preacher to 



BY SENSIBLE OBJECTS. 401 

study ; and if we would be persuaded to study that 
more, the church would be provided with more hea • 
venly lights ; and when our studies are divine, and 
our spirits divine, our preaching will also be divine, 
and we may be called divines indeed. Or if thy 
heart have nothing to say against the work, it will 
trifle away the time in delays, and promise this day 
and the next, but still keep off from the business. 
Or it will give thee a flat denial, and oppose its own 
unwillingness to thy reason. All this I speak of 
the heart, so far as it is still carnal ; for I know, so 
far as it is spiritual, it will judge this the sweetest 
work in the world. 

What is now to be done ? Wilt thou do it, if I 
tell thee? Wouldst thou not say in a like case, 
What should I do with a servant that wi] L not work, 
or with a horse that will not travel ? Shall I keep 
them to look at % Then faithfully deal thus with thy 
heart ; persuade it to the work, take no denial, chide 
it for its backwardness, use violence with it. Hast 
thou no command of thy own thoughts ? Is not the 
subject of thy meditations a matter of choice, especi- 
ally under this conduct of thy judgment ? Surely 
God gave thee, with thy new nature, some power 
to govern thy thoughts. Art thou again become a 
slave to thy depraved nature ? Resume thy autho- 
rity. Call m the Spirit of Christ to thine assistance, 
who is never backward to so good a work, nor 
will deny his help in so just a cause. Say to him, 

s. r * 34* 



402 CONTEMPLATION ASSISTED 

" Lord, thou gavest my reason the command of my 
thoughts and affections: the authority I have re- 
ceived over them is from thee; and now, behold, 
they refuse to obey thine authority. Thou com- 
mandest me to set them to the work of heavenly me- 
ditation, but they rebel and stubbornly refuse the 
duty. Wilt thou not assist me to exercise that au- 
thority which thou hast given me ? O send down 
thy Spirit, that I may enforce thy commands, and 
effectually compel them to obey thy will !" Thus 
thou shalt see thy heart will submit, its resistance 
Le overcome, and its backwardness be turned into 
cheerful compliance. 

2. Thy heart will also be likely to betray thee by 
trifling, when it should be effectually meditating. 
Perhaps, when thou hast an hour for meditation, 
the time will be spent before thy heart will be seri- 
ous. This doing of duty, as if we did it not, ruins 
as many as the omission of it. Here let thine eye 
be always upon thy heart. Look not so much to 
the time it spends in the duty, as to the quantity and 
quality of the work that is done. You can tell by 
his work, whether a servant hath been diligent. 
Ask yourself, " What affections have yet been exer- 
cised ? How much am I yet nearer to heaven ?" 
Think not, since thy heart is so trifling, it is better 
to let it alone : for, by this means, thou wilt certain- 
ly banish all spiritual obedience ; because the best 
hearts, being but sanctified in part, will resist, so far 



BY SENSIBLE OBJECTS, 403 

as they are carnal. But rather consider well the 
corruptions of thy nature ; and that its sinful indis- 
positions will not supercede the commands of God ; 
nor one sin excuse for another ; and that God has 
appointed means to excite our affections. This self- 
reasoning, self-considering duty of heavenly medita- 
tion, is the most singular means both to excite and 
increase love. Therefore stay not from the duty 
till thou feelest thy love constrain thee, any more 
than thou wouldst stay from the fire till thou feelest 
thyself warm ; but engage in the work till love is 
excited, and then love will constrain thee to further 
duty. 

3. Thy heart will also be making excursions from 
thy heavenly meditation to other objects. It will be 
turning aside, like a careless servant, to talk with 
every one that passeth by. When there should be 
nothing in thy mind but heaven, it will be thinking 
of thy calling, or thy afflictions, or of every bird, or 
tree, or place thou seest. The cure is here the same 
as before ; use watchfulness and violence. Say to 
thy heart, " What ! did I come hither to think of my 
worldly business, of persons, places, news, or vanity, 
or of any thing but heaven, be it ever so good % 
1 Canst thou not watch one hour ?' Wouldst thou 
leave this world, and dwell for ever with Christ in 
heaven, and not leave it one hour, to dwell with 
Christ in meditation ? * Is this thy love to thy 
friend V Dost thou love Christ, and the place of thy 



404 CONTEMPLATION ASSISTED 

eternal, blessed abode, no more than this V 1 If the 
ravening fowls of wandering thoughts devour the 
meditations intended for heaven, they devour the life 
and joy of thy thoughts; therefore drive them away 
from thy sacrifice, and strictly keep thy heart to the 
work. 

4. Abruptly ending thy meditation before it is 
well begun, is another way in which thy heart will 
deceive thee. Thou mayst easily perceive this in 
other duties. In secret prayer, is not thy heart urg- 
ing thee to cut it short, and frequently making a 
motion to have done ? So in heavenly contempla- 
tion, thy heart will be weary of the work, and will 
stop thy heavenly walk before thou art well warm. 
But charge it in the name of God to stay, and not 
do so great a work by halves. Say to it, " Foolish 
heart ! if thou beg awhile, and goest away before 
thou hast thine alms, is not thy begging a lost la- 
bor ? If thou stoppest before the end of thy jour- 
ney, is not thy travel lost ? Thou earnest hither in 
hope to have a sight of the glory which thou must 
inherit ; and wilt thou stop when thou art almost at 
the top of the hill, and turn back before thou hast 
taken thy survey ? Thou earnest hither in hope to 
speak with God ; and wilt thou go before thou hast 
seen him ? Thou earnest to bathe thyself in the 
streams of consolation, and to that end didst un- 
clothe thyself of thy earthly thoughts; and wilt 
thou only touch the bank and return ? Thou earnest 



BY SENSIBLE OBJECTS 405 

to ■ spy out the land of promise ;' go not back without 
* one cluster of grapes to show thy brethren,' for 
their encouragement. Let them see that thou hast 
tasted of the wine by the gladness of thy heart ; and 
that thou hast been anointed with the oil, by the 
cheerfulness of thy countenance ; and hast fed of 
the milk and honey, by the mildness of thy dispo- 
sition and the sweetness of thy conversation. This 
heavenly fire would melt thy frozen heart, and re- 
fine and spiritualize it; but it must have time to 
operate." Thus pursue the work till something be 
done, till thy graces be in exercise, thy affections 
raised, and thy soul refreshed with the delights 
above; or, if thou canst not attain these ends at 
once, be the more earnest at another time. " Bless- 
ed is that servant, whom his Lord, when he cometh, 
shall find so doing." 



406 HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION 



CHAPTER XVI. 

HEAVENLY CONTEMPLATION EXEMPLIFIED, AND THE WHOLE 
WORK CONCLUDED. 

The reader's attention excited to the following example of medi- 
tation. 1. The excellencies of heavenly rest ; 2. its nearness ; 
3. dreadful to sinners ; 4. and joyful to saints ; 5. its dear 
purchase; 6. its difference from earth. 7. The heart pleaded 
with ; 8. unbelief banished ; 9. a careless world pitied. 10. 
Heavenly rest the object of love ; 11. and joy. 12. The hearVs 
backwardness to heavenly joy lamented. 13. Heavenly rest 
the object of desire. 

And now, reader, according to the above direc- 
tions, make conscience of daily exercising thy gra 
ces in meditation, as well as prayer. Retire into 
some secret place, at a time the most convenient to 
thyself, and, laying aside all worldly thoughts, with 
all possible seriousness and reverence iook up to- 
wards heaven ; remember there is thine everlasting 
rest; study its excellency and reality; and rise from 
sense to faith, by comparing heavenly with earthly 
joys. Then mix ejaculations with thy soliloquies ; 
till, having pleaded the case reverently with God, 
and seriously with thy own heart, thou hast pleaded 
thyself from a clod to a flame ; from a forgetful sin- 
ner, and a lover of the world, to an ardent lover of 
God ; from a fearful coward to a resolved Christian; 
from an unfruitful sadness to a joyful life ; in a word, 



EXEMPLIFIED. 4Q7 

till thou hast pleaded thy heart from earth to heaven • 
from conversing below, to walking with God ; and 
till thou canst lay thy heart to rest, as in the bosom 
of Christ, by some such meditation of thy everlast- 
ing rest as is here added for thy assistance. 

1. " Rest ! How sweet the sound ! It is melody 
to my ears ! It lies as a reviving cordial at my heart, 
and from thence sends forth lively spirits, which 
beat through all the pulses of my soul ! Rest ! — 
not as the stone that rests on the earth, nor as this 
flesh shall rest in the grave, nor such a rest as the 
carnal world desires. O blessed rest ! when we 
1 rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, 
Lord God Almighty !' when we shall rest from sin, 
but not from worship ; from suffering and sorrow, 
but not from joy ! O blessed day ! when I shall rest 
with God ! when I shall rest in the bosom of my 
Lord! when I shall rest in knowing, loving, re- 
joicing, and praising ! when my perfect soul and 
body shall together perfectly enjoy the most perfect 
God ! when God, who is love itself, shall perfectly 
love me, and rest in his love to me, as I shall rest 
in my love to him ; and rejoice over me with joy, 
and joy over me with singing, as I shall rejoice in 
him! 

2. " How near is that most blessed, joyful day ! 
It comes apace. * He that shall come will come, 
and will not tarry.' Though my Lord seems to 
delay his coming, yet a little while and he will be 



408 CONTEMPLATION 

here. What is a few hundred years when they are 
over ? How surely will his sign appear ! How sud- 
denly will he seize upon the careless world, even 
'as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth 
unto the west !' He who is gone hence shall so 
come. Methinks I hear his trumpet sound ! Me- 
thinks I see him coming in clouds, with his attend- 
ing angels, in majesty and glory ! 

3. " O, secure sinners ! what now will you do ? 
where will you hide yourselves? what shall cover 
you? Mountains are gone; the heavens and the 
earth, which were, are passed away ; the devouring 
lire hath consumed all, except yourselves, who must 
be the fuel for ever. O that you could consume 
as soon as the earth, and melt away as did the hea- 
vens ! Ah, these wishes are now but vain ! The 
Lamb himself would have been your friend; he 
would have loved you, and ruled you, and now have 
saved you ; but you would not then, and now it is too 
late. Cry not, Lord, Lord : too late, too late, man. 
Why dost thou look about? can any save thee? 
Whither dost thou run ? can any hide thee ? O, 
wretch, that hast brought thyself to this ! 

4. " Now, blessed saints, that have believed and 
obeyed ! this is the end of faith and patience. This 
is it for which you prayed and waited. Do you now 
repent your sufferings and sorrows, your self-denial 
and holy walking \ Are your tears of repentance 
now bitter or sweet? See how the Judge smiles 



EXEMPLIFIED, 409 

upon you; there is love in his looks; the titles of 
Redeemer, Husband, Head, are written in his amia- 
ble, shining face. Hark, he calls you ! he bids you 
stand here on his right hand: fear not, for there 
he sets his sheep. O joyful sentence ! * Come, ye 
blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared 
for you from the foundation of the world.' He takes 
you by the hand, the door is open, the kingdom is 
his, and therefore yours ; there is your place before 
his throne ! The Father receives you as the spouse 
of his Son, and bids you welcome to the crown of 
glory. Ever so unworthy, you must be crowned. 
This was the project of free redeeming grace, the 
purpose of eternal love. O blessed grace ! O bless- 
ed love ! O how love and joy w r ill rise ! But I can- 
not express it, I cannot conceive it. 

5. " This is that joy which was procured by sor- 
row, that crown which was procured by the cross. 
My Lord wept, that now my tears might be wiped 
away ; he bled, that I might now rejoice ; he was 
forsaken, that I might not now be forsook ; he then 
died, that I might now live. O free mercy, that 
can exalt so vile a wretch ! Free to me, though 
dear to Christ ! Free grace, that hath chosen me, 
when thousands were forsaken ! When my com- 
panions in sin must burn in hell, I must here re- 
joice in rest ! Here must I live w r ith all these saints ! 
O comfortable meeting of my old acquaintance, with 
whom I prayed, and w T ept, and suffered, and spoke 

oc Saints' Rest- 



410 CONTEMPLATION 

often of this day and place ! I see the grave could 
not detain you : the same love hath redeemed and 
saved you also. 

6. " This is not like our cottages of clay, our pri- 
sons, our earthly dwellings. This voice of joy is not 
like our old complaints, our impatient groans and 
sighs ; nor this melodious praise like the scoffs and 
revilings, or the oaths and curses, which we heard 
on earth. This body is not like that we had, nor 
this soul like the soul we had, nor this life like the 
life we lived. We have changed our place and state, 
our clothes and thoughts, our looks, language, and 
company. Before, a saint was weak and despised ; 
so proud and peevish, we could often scarce discern 
his graces ; but now, how glorious a thing is a saint ! 
Where is now their body of sin, which wearied them- 
selves and those about them ? Where are now our 
different judgments, reproachful names, divided spi- 
rits, exasperated passions, strange looks, uncharita- 
ble censures ? Now we are all of one judgment, of 
one name, of one heart, house and glory. O sweet 
reconciliation ! Happy union ! Now the Gospel shall 
no more be dishonored through our folly. No more, 
my soul, shalt thou lament the sufferings of the 
saints, or the church's ruins ; nor mourn thy suffer- 
ing friends, nor weep over their dying beds, or their 
graves. Thou shalt never suffer thy old temptations 
from Satan, the world, or thy own flesh. Thy pains 
and sickness are all cured ; thy body shall no more 



EXEMPLIFIED. 411 

burden thee with weakness and weariness ; thy ach- 
ing head and heart, thy hunger and thirst, thy sleep 
and labor, are all gone. O what a mighty change 
is this ! from the dunghill to the throne ! from per- 
secuting sinners to praising saints ! from a vile body 
to this which * shines as the brightness of the firma- 
ment !' from a sense of God's displeasure to the per- 
fect enjoyment of him in love ! from ail my doubts 
and fears, to this possession, which puts me out of 
doubt ! from all my fearful thoughts of death, to this 
joyful life ! Blessed change ! Farewell sin and sor- 
row for ever ; farewell my rocky, proud, unbeliev- 
ing heart ; my worldly, sensual, carnal heart ; and 
welcome now my most holy, heavenly nature. Fare- 
well repentance, faith, and hope ; and welcome love, 
and joy, and praise. I shall now have my harvest, 
without ploughing or sowing ; my joy, without a 
preacher or a promise ; even all from the face of 
God himself. Whatever mixture is in the streams, 
there is nothing but pure joy in the fountain. Here 
shall I be encircled with eternity, and ever live, and 
ever, ever praise the Lord ; my face will not wrinkle, 
nor my hair be gray; 'for this corruptible shall 
have put on incorruption, and this mortal, immor- 
tality, and death shall be swallowed up in victory. 
O death, where is now thy sting ? O grave, where 
is thy victory V The date of my lease will no more 
expire, nor shall I trouble myself with thoughts of 
death, nor lose my joys through fear of losing them. 



t 
412 CONTEMPLATION 

When millions of ages are passed, my glory is but 
beginning ; and when millions more are passed, it 
is no nearer ending. Every day is all noon, every 
month is harvest, every year is a jubilee, every age 
is full manhood, and all this is one eternity. O bless- 
ed eternity ! the glory of my glory ! the perfection 
of my perfection ! 

7. " Ah, drowsy, earthly heart ! how coldly dost 
thou think of this reviving day ! Hadst thou rather 
sit down in dirt, than walk in the palace of God % 
Art thou now remembering thy worldly business, 
or thinking of thy lusts, earthly delights, and merry 
company ? Is it better to be here, than above with 
God? Is the company better? Are the pleasures 
greater ? Come away ; make no excuse nor delay ; 
God commands, and I command thee ; gird up thy 
loins ; ascend the mount ; look about thee with faith 
and seriousness. Look not back upon the way of 
the wilderness, except it be to compare the kingdom 
with that howling desert, more sensibly to perceive 
the wide difference. Yonder is thy Father's glory ; 
yonder, O my soul, must thou remove, when thou 
departest from this body ; and when the power of 
thy Lord hath raised it again, and joined thee to it, 
yonder must thou live with God for ever. There is 
the glorious New Jerusalem, the gates of pearl, the 
foundation of pearl, the streets and pavements of 
transparent gold. That sun, which lighteth all this 
world, will be useless there ; even thyself shall be 



EXEMPLIFIED. 413 

as bright as yonder shining sun ; God will be the 
sun, and Christ the light, and in his light shalt thou 
have light. 

8. " O my soul ! dost thou ' stagger at the pro- 
mises of God through unbelief?' I much suspect 
thee. Didst thou believe indeed, thou wouldst be 
more affected with it. Is it not under the hand, and 
seal, and oath of God % Can God lie % Can he that 
is truth itself be false ? What need hath God to flat- 
ter or deceive thee ? Why should he promise thee 
more than he will perform ? Dare not to charge the 
wise, almighty, faithful God with this. How many 
of the promises have been performed to thee in thy 
conversion ! Would God so powerfully concur with 
a feigned word? O wretched heart of unbelief! 
Hath God made thee a promise of rest, and wilt thou 
come short of it ? Thine eyes, thine ears, and all thy 
senses, may prove delusions, sooner than a promise 
of God can delude thee. Thou mayst be surer of 
that which is written in the word, thixn if thou didst 
see it with thine eyes, or feel it with thine hands. 
Art thou sure thou art alive, or that this is earth 
thou standest on, or that thine eyes see the sun % As 
sure is all this glory to the saints ; as sure shall I 
De higher than yonder stars, and live for ever in the 
holy city, and joyfully sound forth the praises of 
my Redeemer ; if I be not shut out by this ' evil 
heart of unbelief/ causing me to ' depart from the 
living God. 1 

s. r, 35* 



414 CONTEMPLATION 

9. " And is this rest so sweet and so sure ? Then 
what mean the careless world ? Know they what 
they neglect ? Did they ever hear of it, or are they 
yet asleep, or are they dead ? Do they certainly 
know that the crown is before them, while they thus 
sit still, or follow trifles % Undoubtedly they are be- 
side themselves, to mind so much their provision by 
the way, when they are hasting so fast to another 
world, and their eternal happiness lies at stake. 
Were there left one spark of reason, they would 
never sell their rest for toil, nor their glory for 
worldly vanities, nor venture heaven for sinful plea- 
sure. Poor men ! O that you would once consider 
what you hazard, and then you would scorn these 
tempting baits ! Blessed for ever be that love which 
hath rescued me from this bewitching darkness ! 

10. " Draw yet nearer, O my soul ! with thy most 
fervent love. Here is matter for it to work upon, 
something worth thy loving. O see what beauty 
presents itself! Is not all the beauty in the world 
united here ? Is not all other beauty but deformity ? 
Dost thou now need to be persuaded to love ? Here 
is a feast for thine eyes, and all the powers of thy 
soul : dost thou need entreaties to feed upon it ? Canst 
thou love a little shining earth, a walking piece of 
clay? and canst thou not love that God, that Christ, 
that glory, which are so truly and unmeasurably 
lovely? Thou canst love thy friend, because he 
loves thee ; and is the love of a friend like the love 



EXEMPLIFIED, 415 

of Christ? Their weeping or bleeding for thee, 
does not ease thee, nor stay the course of thy tears 
or blood ; but the tears and blood that fell from thy 
Lord, have a sovereign, healing virtue. O my 
soul ! if love deserves, and should beget love, what 
incomprehensible love is here before thee ! Pour out 
all the store of thy affections here, and all is too 
little. O that it were more ! O that it were many 
thousand times more ! Let him be first served, that 
served thee first. Let him have the first-born and 
strength of thy soul, who parted with strength, and 
life, and love for thee. — O my soul ! dost thou love 
for excellency ? Yonder is the region of light ; this 
is the land of darkness. Yonder twinkling stars, 
that shining moon, and radiant sun, are all but lan- 
terns, hung out of thy Father's house, to light thee 
while thou walkest in this dark world. But how 
little dost thou know the glory and blessedness that 
are within ! — Dost thou love for suitableness % 
What person more suitable than Christ ? His God- 
head and humanity, his fullness and freeness, his 
willingness and constancy, all proclaim him thy 
most suitable friend. What state more suitable to 
thy misery, than mercy ? or to thy sin and pollu- 
tion, than honor and perfection ? What place more 
suitable to thee than heaven % Does this world 
agree with thy desires ? Hast thou not had a suffi- 
cient trial of it, or dost thou love for interest and 
near relation ? Where hast thou better interest than 
in heaven, or nearer relation than there ? 



416 CONTEMPLATION 

11 Dost thou love for acquaintance and familiarity? 
Though thine eyes have never seen thy Lord, yet 
thou hast heard his voice, received his benefits, and 
lived in his bosom. He taught thee to know thyself 
and him ; he opened thee that first window, through 
which thou sawest into heaven. Hast thou forgot- 
ten since thy heart was careless, and he awakened 
it ; hard, and he softened it ; stubborn, and he made 
it yield ; at peace, and he troubled it ; whole, and he 
broke it ; and broken, till he healed it again ? Hast 
thou forgotten the times when he found thee in 
tears ; when he heard thy secret sighs and groans, 
and left all to come and comfort thee ; when he took 
thee, as it were, in his arms, and asked thee, Poor 
soul, what ails thee ? Dost thou weep, when I have 
wept so much ? Be of good cheer ; thy wounds are 
saving, and not deadly ; it is I have made them, who 
mean thee no hurt ; though I let out thy blood, I 
will not let out thy life. I remember his voice. How 
gently did he take me up ! How carefully did he 
dress my wounds ! Methinks I hear him still say- 
ing to me, ' Poor sinner, though thou hast dealt un- 
kindly with me, and cast me off, yet I will not do 
so by thee. Though thou hast set light by me and 
all my mercies, yet they and myself are all thine. 
What wouldst thou have, that I can give thee % And 
what dost thou want, that I cannot give thee ? If any 
thing I have will give thee pleasure, thou shalt have 
it. Wouldst thou have pardon ? I freely forgive thee 



EXEMPLIFIED. 417 

all the debt. Wouldst thou have grace and peace ? 
Thou shalt have them both. Wouldst thou have 
myself? Behold, I am thine, thy Friend, thy Lord, 
thy Brother, Husband, and Head. Wouldst thou 
have the Father ? I will bring thee to him, and thou 
shalt have him, in and by me. 7 These were my 
Lord's reviving words. After all, when I was doubt- 
ful of his love, methinks I yet remember his over- 
coming arguments : ' Have I done so much, sinner, 
to testify my love, and yet dost thou doubt ? Have I 
offered thee myself and love so long, and yet dost 
thou question my willingness to be thine ? At what 
dearer rate should I tell thee that I love thee ? Wilt 
thou not believe my bitter passion proceeded from 
love ? Have I made myself in the Gospel a lion to 
thine enemies, and a lamb to thee, and dost thou 
overlook my lamb-like nature ? Had I been willing 
to let thee perish, what need I have done and suf- 
fered so much ? What need I follow thee with such 
patience and importunity % Why dost thou tell me 
of thy wants ; have I not enough for me and thee ? 
or of thy unworthiness ; for if thou wast thyself 
worthy, what shouldst thou do with my worthiness % 
Did I ever invite, or save, the worthy and right- 
eous ? or is there any such upon earth ? Hast thou 
nothing ? art thou lost and miserable, helpless and 
forlorn ? Dost thou believe I am an all-sufficient 
Savior, and wouldst thou have me? Lo, I am 
thine ; take me ; if thou art willing, I am ; and nei- 



418 CONTEMPLATION 

ther sin nor Satan shall break the match.' These, 
these, were the blessed words which his Spirit from 
his Gospel e poxe unto me, till he made me cast my- 
self at his feet, and cry out, ' My Savior and my 
Lord, thou hast broken, thou hast revived my heart ; 
thou hast overcome, thou hast won my heart ; take it, 
it is thine ; if such a heart can please thee, take it ; 
if it cannot, make it such as thou wouldst have it."' 
Thus, O my soul, mayst thou remember the sweet 
familiarity thou hast had with Christ ; therefore, if 
acquaintance will cause affection, let out thy heart 
unto him. It is he that hath stood by thy bed of 
sickness, hath eased thy pains, refreshed thy weari- 
ness, and removed thy fears. He hath been always 
ready, when thou hast earnestly sought him ; hath 
met thee in public and private ; hath been found of 
thee in the congregation, in thy house, in thy closet, 
in the field, in thy waking nights, in thy deepest 
dangers. 

" If bounty and compassion be an attractive of 
love, how unmeasurably, then, am I bound to love 
him ! All the mercies that have filled up . my life, 
all the places that ever I abode in, all the societies 
and persons I have been conversant with, all my 
employments and relations, every condition I have 
been in, and every change I have passed through, 
all tell me that the fountain is overflowing good- 
ness. Lord, what a sum of love am I indebted to 
thee ! And how does my debt continually increase ! 



EXEMPLIFIED. 419 

How should I love again for so much love ? But 
shall I dare to think of requiting thee, or of recom- 
pensing all thy love with mine ? Will my mite re- 
quite thee for thy golden mines ; my seldom wishes, 
for thy constant bounty ; mine, which is nothing, or 
not mine, for thine, which is infinite, and thine own? 
Shall I dare to contend in love with thee, or set my 
borrowed, languid spark, against the sun of love ? 
Can f love as high, as deep, as broad, as long, as 
Love itself? as much as he that made me, and that 
made me love, and gave me all that little which I 
have ? As I cannot match thee in the works of pow- 
er, nor make, nor preserve, nor rule the worlds ; no 
more can I match thee in love. No, Lord, I yield ; 
I am overcome. O blessed conquest ! Go on vic- 
toriously, and still prevail, and triumph in thy love. 
The captive of love shall proclaim thy victory ; when 
thou leadest me in triumph from earth to heaven, 
from death to life, from the tribunal to the throne ; 
myself, and all that see it, shall acknowledge thou 
hast prevailed, and all shall say, ' Behold, how he 
loved him!' Yet let me love in subjection to thy 
love ; as thy redeemed captive, though not thy peer. 
Shall I not love at all, because I cannot reach thy 
measure ? O that I could feelingly say, ' I love thee,' 
even as I love my friend and myself! Though I 
cannot say, as the apostle, ' Thou knowest that I 
love thee ;' yet I can say, Lord, thou knowest that 
I would love thee. I am angry with my heart, thai 



420 CONTEMPLATION 

it doth not love thee ; I chide it, yet it doth not mend ; 
I reason with it, and would fain persuade it, yet I do 
not perceive it stir ; I rub and chafe it in the use of 
ordinances, and yet I feel it not warm within me. 
Unworthy soul ! is not thine eye now upon the only 
lovely object ? Art thou not now beholding the ra- 
vishing glory of the saints ? And dost thou not love? 
Art thou not a rational soul, and should not reason 
tell thee that earth is a dungeon to the celestial glo- 
ry ? Art thou not thyself a spirit, and shouldst thou 
not love God, ' who is a spirit, and the Father of 
spirits V Why dost thou love so much thy perish- 
ing clay, and love no more the heavenly glory? 
Shalt thou love when thou comest there ; when the 
Lord shall take thy body from the grave, and 
make thee shine as the sun in glory for ever and 
ever ; shalt thou then love, or shalt thou not ? Is 
not the place a meeting of lovers ? Is not the life a 
state of love ? Is it not the great marriage-day of 
the Lamb ? Is not the employment there the work 
of love, where the souls* with Christ take their fill ? 
O then, my soul, begin it here ! ' Be sick with love* 
now, that thou mayst be well with love there. * Keep 
thyself now * in the love of God ;' and let ' neither 
life, nor death, nor anything, separate thee from it; 1 
and thou shalt be kept in the fullness of love for ever, 
and nothing shall imbitter or abate thy pleasure ; for 
the Lord hath prepared a city of love, a place for 
communicating love to his chosen, * and they that 
love his name shall dwell therein.' 



EXEMPLIFIED. 421 

"Awake, then, O my drowsy soul ! To sleep un- 
der the light of grace is unreasonable, much more 
in the approach of the light of glory. Come forth, 
my dull, congealed spirit: thy Lord bids thee 4 re- 
j oice, and again rejoice.' Thou hast lain long enough 
in thy prison of flesh, where Satan hath been thy 
jailer ; cares have been thy irons, fears thy scourges, 
and thy food the bread and water of affliction; where 
sorrows have been thy lodgings, and thy sin and 
foes have made thy bed, and an unbelieving heart 
hath been the gates and bars that have kept thee in : 
the angel of the covenant now calls thee, and bids 
thee ' arise and follow him. 7 Up, O my soul ! and 
cheerfully obey, and thy bolts and bars shall all 
fly open : follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. 
Shouldst thou fear to follow such a guide ? Can the 
sun lead thee to a state of darkness ? Will he lead 
thee to death, who died to save thee from it. ? Follow 
him, and he will show thee the paradise of God ; he 
will give thee a sight of the New Jerusalem, and a 
taste of the tree of life. Come forth, my drooping 
soul, and lay aside thy winter dress ; let it be seen, 
by thy ' garments of joy and praise,' that the spring 
is come ; and as thou now seest thy comforts green, 
thou shalt shortly see them ' white and ripe for har- 
vest,' and then thou shalt be called to reap, and ga- 
ther, and take possession. Should I suspend and 
delay my joys till- then? Should not the joys of the 
spring go before the joys of harvest ? Is title nothing 

2Q Saints' Rest 



422 CONTEMPLATION 

before possession ? Is the heir in no better a state 
than a slave? My Lord hath taught me to rejoice in 
hope of his glory ; and how to see it through the 
bars of a prison ; for, when persecuted for righteous- 
ness' sake, he commands me to ' rejoice and be ex- 
ceeding glad, because 'my reward in heaven is 
great.' I know he would have my joys exceed my 
sorrows ; and as much as he delights in ' the hum- 
ble and contrite, he yet more delights in the soul 
that ' delights in him.' Hath my Lord spread me a 
table in this wilderness, and furnished it with the 
promises of everlasting glory, and set before me an- 
gels' food ? Doth he frequently and importunately 
invite me to sit down, and feed, and spare not ? Hath 
he, to that end, furnished me with reason, and faith, 
and a joyful disposition ; and is it possible that he 
should be unwilling to have me rejoice ? Is it not 
his command to ' delight thyself in the Lord ;' and 
his promise, to ' give thee the desires of thine heart?' 
Art thou not charged to • rejoice evermore ;' yea, to 
* sing aloud, and shout for joy ? Why should I, then, 
be discouraged ? My God is willing, if I were but 
willing. He is delighted in my delights. He would 
have it my constant frame, and daily business, to be 
near him in my believing meditations, and to live in 
the sweetest thoughts of his goodness. O blessed 
employment, fit for the sons of God ! But thy feast, 
my Lord, is nothing to me without an appetite. 
Thou hast set the dainties of heaven before me ; but 



EXEMPLIFIED. 423 

alas ? I am blind, and cannot see them ! I am sick, 
and cannot relish them ! I am so benumbed, that I 
cannot put forth a hand to take them ! I therefore 
humbly beg this grace, that, as thou hast opened 
heaven to me in thy word, so thou wouldst open 
mine eyes to see it, and my heart to delight in it . 
else heaven will be no heaven to me. O thou Spirit 
of life ! breathe upon thy graces in me ; take me by 
the hand, and lift me from the earth, that I may see 
what glory ' thou hast prepared for them that love 
thee !' 

" Away, then, ye soul-tormenting cares and fears, 
ye heart-vexing sorrows ! At least forbear a little 
while : stand by ; stay here below, till I go up and 
see my rest. The way is strange to me, but not to 
Christ. There was the eternal abode of his glorious 
Deity ; and thither hath he also brought his glori- 
fied flesh. It was his work to purchase it ; it is his 
to prepare it, and to prepare me for it, and bring me 
to it. The eternal God of truth hath given me his 
promise, his seal, and oath, that, ' believing in Christ, 
I shall not perish, but have everlasting life.' Thi- 
ther shall my soul be speedily removed, and my bo- 
dy very shortly follow. And can my tongue say 
that I shall shortly and surely live with God, and 
yet my heart not leap within me % Can I say it with 
faith, and not with joy? Ah, faith, how sensibly do 
I now perceive thy weakness ! But though unbelief 
darken my light, and dull my life, and suppress my 



124 CONTEMPLATION 

joys, it shall not be able to conquer and destroy me ; 
though it envy all my comforts, yet some; in spite 
of it, I shall even here receive ; and if that did not 
hinder, what abundance might I have ! The light 
of heaven would shine into my heart, and I might 
be almost as familiar there as I am on earth. Come 
away, then, my soul ; stop thine ears to the igno- 
rant language of infidelity ; thou art able to answer 
all its arguments ; or, if thou art not, yet tread them 
under thy feet. Come away ; stand not looking on 
that grave, nor turning those bones, nor reading 
thy lesson now in the dust ; those lines will soon 
be wiped out. But lift up thy head and look to hea- 
ven, and see thy name written in golden letters ' in 
the book of life of the Lamb that was slain.' What 
if an angel should tell thee that there is a mansion 
in heaven prepared for thee, that it shall certainly 
be thine for ever; would not such a. message make 
thee glad % And dost thou make light of the infalli- 
ble Word of Promise, which was delivered by the 
Spirit, and even by the Son himself? Suppose thou 
hadst seen a fiery chariot come for thee, and take 
thee up to heaven, like Elijah ; would not this re- 
joice thee? But thy Lord assures thee that the soul 
of a Lazarus hath a convoy of angels to carry it into 
Abraham's bosom. Shall a drunkard be so merry 
among his cups, or the glutton in his delicious fare 
and shall not I rejoice, who must shortly be in hea- 
ven ? Can meat and drink delight me when I hun- 



EXEMPLIFIED. 425 

ger and thirst ? Can I find pleasure in walks and 
gardens, and convenient dwellings % Can beautiful 
objects delight my eyes ; or grateful odors my smell ; 
or melody my ears ? and shall not the forethought 
of celestial bliss delight me ? Methinks among my 
books I could employ myself in sweet content, and 
bid the world farewell, and pity the rich and great 
that know not this happiness ; what then will my 
happiness in heaven be, where my knowledge will 
be perfect ! If ' the queen of Sheba came from the 
utmost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of So- 
lomon,' and see his glory ; how cheerfully should I 
pass from earth to heaven, to see the glory of the 
eternal majesty, and attain the height of wisdom, 
compared with which the most learned on earth are 
but fools and idiots ! What if God had made me 
commander of the earth ; what if I could * remove 
mountains, heal diseases with a word or a touch, or 
cast out devils,' should I not rejoice in such privi- 
leges and honors as these, and shall I not much 
more rejoice that my name is written in heaven ? 
I cannot here enjoy my parents, or my near and be- 
loved friends, without some delight ; especially, when 
I did freely let out my affection to my friend, how 
sweet was that exercise of my love ! O what will it 
then be to live in the perpetual love of God ! * For 
brethren to dwell together in unity here, how good 
and how pleasant it is !' To see a family live in 
love ; husband and wife, parents, children, and ser- 
s. r. 36* 



426 CONTEMPLATION 

vants doing all in love to one another ; to see a town 
live together in love, without any envyings, brawl- 
ings, or contentions, law-suits, factions, or divisions, 
but every man loving his neighbor as himself, think- 
ing they can never do too much for one another, 
but striving to go beyond each other in love ; how 
happy, how delightful a sight is this ! O then, what 
blessed society will the family of heaven be, and 
those peaceful inhabitants of the New Jerusalem, 
where there is no division nor differing judgments, 
no disaffection nor strangeness, no deceitful friend- 
ship, no, not one unkind expression, not an angry 
look or thought : but all are one in Christ, who is 
one with the Father, and all live in the love of him 
who is love itself! The soul is not more where it 
lives, than where it loves. How near, then, will my 
soul be united to God, when I shall so heartily, 
strongly, and incessantly love him ! Ah, wretched, 
unbelieving heart, that can think of such a day, and 
work, and life as this, with such low and feeble joys ! 
But my future enjoyments will be more lively. 

" How delightful is it to me to behold and study 
these inferior works of creation ! What a beautiful 
fabric do we here dwell in; the floor so dressed 
with herbs, and flowers, and trees, and watered with 
springs and rivers ; the roof so widely expanded, so 
admirably adorned ! What wonders do sun, moon, 
and stars, seas and winds, contain ! And hath God 
prepared such a house for corruptible flesh, for a soul 



EXEMPLIFIED 427 

imprisoned ? and doth he bestow so many millions of 
wonders upon his enemies ? O what a dwelling must 
that be which he prepares for his dearly beloved 
children ! and how will the glory of the New Jeru- 
salem exceed all the present glory of the creatures ! 
Arise, then, Omy soul, in thy contemplation, and let 
thy thoughts of that glory as far exceed in sweetness 
thy thoughts of the excellencies below ! Fear not to 
go out of this body, and this world, when thou must 
make so happy a change : but say, as one did when 
he was dying, ' I am glad, and even leap for joy, that 
the time is come, in which that mighty Jehovah, 
whose majesty in my search of nature I have admir- 
ed, whose goodness I have adored, whom by faith I 
have desired and panted after, will now show him- 
self to me face to face.' 

" How wonderful, also, are the works of Provi- 
dence ! How delightful to see the great God inte- 
rest himself in the safety and advancement of a few 
humble, praying, but despised persons ; and to re- 
view those special mercies with which my own life 
hath been adorned and sweetened ! How often have 
my prayers been heard, my tears regarded, my 
troubled soul relieved i How often hath my Lord 
bid me be of good cheer i What a support are these 
experiences, these clear testimonies of my Father's 
love, to my fearful, unbelieving heart ! O then, what 
a blessed day will that be, when I shall have all 
mercy, perfection of mercy, and fully enjoy the Lord 



428 CONTEMPLATION 

of mercy ; when I shall stand on the shore, and 
look back on the raging seas I have safely passed ; 
when I shall review my pains and sorrows, my 
fears and tears, and possess the glory which was 
the end of all ! If one drop of lively faith was mix- 
ed with these considerations, what a heaven-ravish- 
ing heart should I carry within me ! Fain would * I 
believe ; Lord, help my unbelief.' 

" How sweet, O my soul, have ordinances been to 
thee! What delight hast thou had in prayer and 
thanksgiving, under heavenly sermons, and in the 
society of saints, and to see ' the Lord adding to the 
church such as should be saved !' How, then, can my 
heart conceive the joy which I shall have to see the 
perfected church in heaven, and to be admitted into 
the celestial temple, and with the heavenly host 
praise the Lord for ever 1 If the word of God was 
sweeter to Job than his necessary food, and to David 
than honey and the honeycomb, and was the joy 
and rejoicing of Jeremiah's heart ; how blessed a 
day will that be, when we shall fully enjoy the Lord 
of this word, and shall no more need these written 
precepts and promises, nor read any book but the 
face of the glorious God ! If they that heard Christ 
speak on earth * were astonished at his wisdom and 
answers, and wondered at the gracious words that 
proceeded out of his mouth ;' how shall I, then, be 
affected to behold him in his majesty ! 

Q - Can the prospect of his glory make others wel- 



EXEMPLIFIED. 429 

come the cross, and even refuse deliverance ; and 
cannot it make thee cheerful under lesser suffer- 
ings ? Can it sweeten the flames of martyrdom, and 
not sweeten thy life, or thy sickness, or thy natural 
death ? Is it not the same heaven which they and 
I must live in ? Is not their God, their Christ, their 
crown, and mine, the same ? And shall I look upon 
it with an eye so dim, a heart so dull, a countenance 
so dejected ? Some small foretastes of it have I my- 
self had ; and how much more delightful have they 
been than any earthly things ever were ! and what, 
then, will the full enjoyment be ! 

" What a beauty is there here in the imperfect 
graces of the Spirit ! Alas i how small are these to 
what we shall enjoy in our perfect state ! What a 
happy life should I here live, could I but love God 
as much as I would ; could I be all love, and al- 
ways loving ! O my soul, what wouldst thou give 
for such a life 1 Had I such apprehensions of God, 
such knowledge of his word as I desire ; could I 
fully trust him in all my straits ; could I be as live- 
ly as I would in every duty ; could I make God my 
constant desire and delight ; I would not envy the 
world their honors or pleasures. What a blessed 
state, O my soul ! wilt thou shortly be in, when thou 
shalt have far more of these than thou canst now 
desire, and shalt exercise thy perfected graces in the 
immediate vision of God, and not in the dark, and 
at a distance, as now! 



430 CONTEMPLATION 

" Is the sinning-, afflicted, persecuted church d 
Christ so much more excellent than any particular 
gracious soul ? What then will the church be when 
it is fully gathered and glorified ; when it is ascend- 
ed from the valley of tears to Mount Sion ; when it 
shall sin and suffer no more ! The glory of the Old 
Jerusalem will be darkness and deformity to the 
glory of the New. What cause shall we have, then, 
to shout for joy, when we shall see how glorious 
the heavenly temple is, and remember the meanness 
of the church on earth ! 

12. " But, alas ! what a loss am I at in the midst 
of my contemplations ! I thought my heart had all 
the while attended, but I see it hath not. What life 
is there in empty thoughts and words, without affec 
tions % Neither God, nor I, find pleasure in them. 
Where hast thou been, unworthy hean, while I was 
opening to thee the everlasting treasures ? Art thou 
not ashamed to complain so much of an uncomforta- 
ble life, and to murmur at God for filling thee with 
sorrows, when he in vain offers thee the delights of 
angels % Hadst thou now but followed me close, it 
would have made thee revive, and leap for joy, and 
forget thy pains and sorrows. Did I think my heart 
had been so backward to rejoice ? 

13. " Lord, thou hast reserved my perfect j-oys for 
heaven ; therefore, help me to desire till I may pos- 
sess, and let me long when I cannot, as I would, re- 
joice. O my soul, thou knowest, to thy sorrow, that 



EXEMPLIFIED. 431 

thou art not yet at thy rest. When shall I arrive at 
that safe and quiet harbor, where there are none of 
these storms, waves, and dangers ; when I shall ne- 
ver more have a weary, restless night or day ? Then 
my life will not be such a mixture of hope and fear, 
of joy and sorrow ; nor shall flesh and spirit be com- 
bating within me ; nor faith and unbelief, humility 
and pride, maintain a continual conflict. O when 
shall I be past these soul-tormenting fears, and cares, 
and griefs 1 When shall I be out of this soul-contra- 
dicting, ensnaring, deceitful flesh ; this corruptible 
body, this vain, vexatious world? Alas, that I must 
stand and see the church and cause of Christ tossed 
about in contention, and made subservient to private 
interests or deluded fancies ! There is none of this 
disorder in the heavenly Jerusalem ; there I shall 
find a harmonious concert of perfected spirits, obey- 
ing and praising their everlasting King. O how 
much better to be a door-keeper there, than the com- 
mander of this tumultuous world ! Why am 1 no 
more weary of this weariness ? Why do I so forget 
my resting-place % Up then, O my soul, in thy most 
raised and fervent desires ! Stay not till this flesh 
can desire with thee ; expect not that sense should 
apprehend thy blessed object, and tell thee when and 
what to desire. Doth not the dullness of thy desires 
after rest accuse thee of most detestable ingratitude 
and folly ? Must thy Lord procure thee a rest at so 
dear a rate, and dost thou no more value it ? Must 



432 CONTEMPLATION 

he go before to prepare so glorious a mansion for 
such a wretch, and art thou loth to go and possess 
it ? Shall the Lord of glory be desirous of thy com- 
pany, and thou not desirous of his ? Must earth be- 
come a very 'hell to thee before thou art willing to 
be with God ? Behold the most lovely creature, or 
the most desirable state, and tell me, where wouldst 
thou be if not with God ? Poverty is a burden ; riches 
a snare; sickness unpleasing : health unsafe; the 
frowning world bruises thy heel ; the smiling world 
stings thee to the heart ; so much as the world is 
loved and delighted in, it hurts and endangers the 
lover ; and if it may not be loved, why should it be 
desired 1 If thou art applauded, it proves the most 
contagious breath ; if thou art vilified, or unkindly 
used, methinks this should not entice thy love. If 
thy successful labors, and thy godly friends, seem 
better to thee than a life with God, it is time for God 
to take them from thee. If thy studies have been 
sweet, have they not also been bitter ? And, at best, 
what are they to the everlasting views of the God oi 
truth ? Thy friends here have been thy delight, and 
have they not also heen thy vexation and grief? 
They are gracious, and are they not also sinful? 
They are kind, and are they not soon displeased ? 
They are humble, but, alas, how proud also ! Their 
graces are sweet, and their gifts helpful ; but are not 
their corruptions bitter, and their imperfections hurt- 
ful ? And art thou so loth to go from them to thy God ? 



EXEMPLIFIED. 433 

11 O my soul, look above this world of sorrows ! 
Hast thou so long felt the smarting- rod of affliction, 
and no better understood its meaning ? Is not every 
stroke to drive thee hence? Is not its voice like that 
to Elijah, * What dost thou here? 7 Dost thou forget 
thy Lord's prediction? * In the world ye shall have 
tribulation ; in me ye shall have peace !' Ah, my 
dear Lord, I feel thy meaning; it is written in my 
flesh, engraved in my bones. My heart thou aim- 
est at ; thy rod drives, thy silken cord of love draws; 
and all to bring it to thyself. Lord, can such a heart 
be worth thy having ? Make it worthy, and then it 
is thine; take it to thyself, and then take me. This 
clod hath life to stir, but not to rise. As the feeble 
child to the tender mother, it looketh up to thee, and 
stretcheth ou* the hands, and fain would nave thee 
take it up. Though I cannot say, ' My soul longeth 
after thee f yet I can say, I long for such a longing 
heart. * The spirit is willing, the flesh is weak.' My 
spirit cries, ■ Let thy kingdom come,' or let me come 
to thy kingdom ; tut the flesh is afraid thou shouldst 
hear my prayer, and take me at my word. O blessed 
be thy grace, which makes use of my corruptions to 
kill themselves ; for I fear my fears, and sorrow for 
my sorrows, and long for greater longings ; and 
thus the painful means of attaining my desires in- 
crease my weariness, and that makes me groan to 
be at rest. 

" Indeed, Lord, my soul itself is in a strait, and 

4* SainteC Rtet 



434 CONTEMPLATION 

what to choose I know not; but thou kno west what 
to give: * to depart and be with thee, is far better ;' 
but 'to abide in the flesh seems needful.' Thou 
kno west I am not weary of thy work, but of sorrow 
and sin ; I am willing to stay while thou wilt em- 
ploy me, and despatch the work thou hast put into 
my hands ; -but, I beseech thee, stay no longer when 
this is done ; and while I must be here, let me be 
still amending and ascending; make me still better, 
and take me at the best. I dare not be so impatient 
as to importune thee to cut off my time, and snatch 
me hence unready ; because 1 know my everlasting 
state so much depends on the improvement of this 
life. Nor would I stay when my work is done ; and 
remain here sinning, while my brethren are triumph- 
ing. Thy footsteps bruise this worm, while those 
stars shine in the firmament of glory. Yet I am thy 
child as well as they ; Christ is my Head as well 
as theirs ; why is there, then, so great a distance ? 
But I acknowledge the equity of thy ways; though 
we are all children, yet I am the prodigal, and there- 
fore more fit, in this remote country, to feed on 
husks, while they are always with thee, and pos- 
sess thy glory. They were once themselves in my 
condition, and I shall shortly be in theirs. They 
were of the lowest form before they came to the 
highest ; they suffered, before they reigned ; they 
' came out of great tribulation, who are now before 
thy throne ;' and shall I not be content to come to 



EXEMPLIFIED. 435 

the crown as they did ; and to * drink of their cup, 
before I sit with them in the kingdom V Lord, I am 
content to stay thy time, and go thy way, so thou 
wilt exalt me also in thy season, and take me into thy 
barn when thou seest me ripe. In the meantime, 
I may desire, though I am not to repine ; I may be- 
lieve and wish, though not make any sinful haste ; 
I am willing to wait for thee, but not to lose thee ; 
and when thou seest me too contented with thine 
absence, then quicken my languid desires, and blow 
up the dying spark of love ; and leave me not until 
I am able unfeignedly to cry out, * As the hart pant- 
eth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after 
thee, O God ! My soul thirsteth for God, for the 
living God; when shall I come and appear before 
God ? My conversation is in heaven, from whence 
I look for a Savior. My affections are set on things 
above, where Christ sitteth, and my life is hid. I 
walk by faith, and not by sight ; willing rather to 
be absent from the body, and present with the Lord.' 
" What interest hath this empty world in me ; and 
what is there in it that may seem so lovely as to en- 
tice my desires from my God, or make me loth to 
soar away ? Methinks, when I look upon it with a 
deliberate eye, it is a howling wilderness, and too ma- 
ny of its inhabitants are untamed monsters. I can view 
all its beauty and deformity, and drown all its plea- 
sures in a few penitent tears ; or the wind of a sigh 
will scatter them away. O let not this flesh so se- 



436 CONTEMPLATION 

duce my soul as to make it prefer this weary life 
before the joys that are about thy throne! And 
though death itself be unwelcome to nature, yet let 
thy grace make thy glory appear to me so desira- 
ble, that the king of terrors may be the messenger 
of my joy. Let not my soul be ejected by violence, 
and dispossessed of its habitation against its will ; but 
draw it to thyself by the secret power of thy love, as 
the sunshine in the spring draws forth the creatures 
from their winter cells ; meet it half-way, and en- 
tice it to thee, as the loadstone doth the iron, and as 
the greater flame attracts the less ! Dispel, there- 
fore, the clouds that hide thy love from me; or re- 
move the scales that hinder mine eyes from behold- 
ing thee; for the beams that stream from thy face, 
and the foretastes of thy great salvation, and no- 
thing else, can make a soul unfeignedly say, * Now 
let thy servant depart in peace !' But it is not thy 
ordinary discoveries that will here suffice; as the 
work is greater, so must thy help be. O turn these 
fears into strong desires, and this lothness to die in- 
to longings after thee ! While I must be absent 
from thee, let my soul as heartily groan as my body 
doth under its want of health ! If I have any more 
time to spend on earth, let me live as without the 
world in thee, as I have sometimes lived as without 
thee in the world ! While I have a thought to think, 
let me not forget thee ; or a tongue to move, let me 
mention thee with delight; or breath to breathe/let 



EXEMPLIFIED. 437 

it be after thee, and for thee ; or a knee to bend, let 
il daily bow at thy footstool ; and when by sickness 
thou confinest me, do thou ' make my bed, number 
my pains, and put all my tears into thy bottle !' 

" As my flesh desired what my spirit abhorred, 
so now let my spirit desire that day which my flesh 
abhorreth ; that my friends may not with so much 
sorrow wait for the departure of my soul, as my 
soul with joy shall wait for its own departure ! Then 
'let me die the death of the righteous, and let my 
last end be like his;' even a removal to that glory 
which shall never end ! Then let thy convoy of an- 
gels bear my departing soul among the perfected 
spirits of the just, and let me follow my dear friends 
that have died in Christ before me ; and, while my 
sorrowing friends are weeping over my grave, let 
my spirit be reposed with thee in rest ; and while 
my body shall moulder in the dust, let my soul 
be in ' the inheritance of the faints in light !' O thou 
that numberest the very hairs of my head, number 
all the days that my body lies in the dust ; and thou 
that 4 writest all my members in thy book,' keep an 
account of my scattered bones ! O my Savior, hasten 
the time of thy return; send forth thy angels, and 
let that dreadful, joyful trumpet sound! Delay not, 
lest the living give up their hopes; delay not, lest 
earth should grow like hell, and thy church, by di- 
vision, be all crumbled to dust ; delay not, lest thy 
enemies get advantage of thy flock, and lest pride, 

s r 3T # 



438 CONTEMPLATION 

hypocrisy, sensuality and unbelief prevail against 
thy little remnant, and share among them thy whole 
inheritance, and when thou comest, thou find not 
faith on the earth ; delay not, lest the grave should 
boast of victory, and, having learned rebellion of its 
guest, should refuse to deliver thee up thy due ! O 
hasten that great resurrection-day, when thy com- 
mand shall go forth, and none disobey: when 'the 
sea and the earth shall yield up their hostages, and 
all thj.t sleep in the grave shall awake, and the dead 
hi Christ shall rise first;' when the seed which 
thou sowest corruptible, shall come forth incorrup- 
tible; and graves that received rottenness and dust, 
shall return thee glorious stars and suns ! Therefore 
dare I lay down my body in the dust, intrusting it, 
not to a grave, but to thee ; and therefore my flesh 
shall rest in hope, till thou shalt raise it to the pos- 
session of everlasting rest. 'Return, O Lord, how 
long ? O let thy kingdom come !' Thy desolate 
'bride saith, Come !' for thy Spirit within her saith, 
Come; and teacheth her thus to 'pray with groan- 
ings which cannot be uttered ; yea, the whole crea- 
tion saith, Come, waiting to be delivered from the 
bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty ot 
the children of God.' Thou thyself hast said, ' Sure- 
ly I come quickly; Amen. Even so, come, Lord 
Jesus*? " 



EXEMPLIFIED. 439 



CONCLUSION. 

Thus, reader, I have given thee my best advice 
for maintaining a heavenly conversation. If thou 
canst not thus meditate methodically and fully, yet do 
it as thou canst ; only be sure to do it seriously and 
frequently. Be acquainted with this heavenly work, 
and thou wilt, in some degree, be acquainted with 
God ; thy joys will be spiritual, prevalent, and last- 
ing, according to the nature of their blessed object ; 
thou wilt have comfort in life and death. When 
thou hast neither wealth, nor health, nor the plea- 
sures of this world, yet wilt thou have comfort 
Without the presence or help of any friend, with- 
out a minister, without a book, when all means are 
denied thee, or taken from thee, yet mayst thou have 
vigorous, real comfort. Thy graces will be mighty, 
active, and victorious ; and the daily joy which is 
thus drawn from heaven, will be thy strength. 
Thou wilt be as one that stands on the top of an 
exceeding high mountain; he looks down on the 
world as if it were quite below him ; fields and 
woods, cities and towns, seem to him but little spots. 
Thus despicably wilt thou look on all things here 
below. The greatest princes will seem but as grass- 
hoppers ; the busy, contentious, covetous world, but 
as u heap of ants. Men's threatenings will be no 



440 CONTEMPLATION 

terror to thee, nor the honors of this world any 
strong enticement ; temptations will be more harm- 
less, as having lost their strength ; and afflictions 
less grievous, as having lost their sting ; and every 
mercy will be better known and relished. It is now, 
under God, in thy own choice, whether thou wilt 
live this blessed life or not ; and whether all this 
pains I have taken for thee shall prosper, or be lost. 
If it be lost through thy neglect thou thyself wilt 
prove the greatest loser. O man, what hast thou 
to mind but God and heaven ? Art thou not almost 
out of this world already ? Dost thou not look every 
day, when one disease or other will release thy soul ? 
Does not the grave wait to be thine house, and worms, 
to feed upon thy face and heart ? What if thy pulse, 
must beat a few strokes more? What if thou hast a 
little longer to breathe, before thou breathe out thy 
last ; a few more nights to sleep, before thou sleepest 
in the dust ? Alas ! what will this be, when it is 
gone ? And is it not almost gone already? Very 
shortly thou wilt see thy glass run out, and say to 
thyself, " My life is done ! My time is gone ! it is 
past recalling ! There is nothing now but heaven 
or hell before me!" Where, then, should thy heart 
be now, but in heaven ? Didst thou know what a 
dreadful thing it is to have a doubt of heaven when 
a man is dying, it would rouse thee up. And what 
else but doubt can that man then do, that never seri» 
Dusly thought of heaven before 



EXEMPLIFIED. 441 

Some there be that say, " It is not worth so much 
time and trouble to think of the greatness of the 
joys above ; if we can make sure they are ours, we 
know they are great." But as these men obey not 
the command of God, which requires them to have 
their " conversation in heaven, and to set their afFec* 
tions on things above ;" so they willfully make their 
own lives miserable, by refusing the delights which. 
God hath set before them. And if this were all, it 
were a small matter; but see what abundance of 
other mischiefs follow the neglect of these heavenly 
delights. This neglect will damp, if not destroy, 
their love to God — will make it unpleasant to them 
to think or speak of God, or engage in his service 
— it tends to pervert their judgments concerning the 
ways and ordinances of God — -it makes them sensu- 
al and voluptuous — it leaves them under the power 
of every affliction and temptation, and is a prepa- 
rative to total apostacy — it will also make them fear- 
ful and unwilling to die ; for who would go to God for 
a place he hath no delight in ? who would leave his 
pleasure here, if he had not better to go to ? Had 
I only proposed a course of melancholy, and fear, 
and sorrow, you might reasonably have objected. 
But you must have heavenly delights, or none that 
are lasting. God is willing you should daily walk 
with him, anl draw consolations from the ever- 
lasting fountain: if you are unwilling, even bear 
the loss ; and, when you are dying, seek for comfort 



442 CONTEMPLATION 

where you can get it, and see whether fleshly de- 
lights will remain with you; then conscience will 
remember, in spite of you ; that you were once per- 
suaded to a way for more excellent pleasures — plea- 
sures that would have followed you through" death, 
and have lasted to eternity. 

As for you, whose hearts God hath weaned from 
all things here below, I hope you will value tins 
heavenly life, and take one w r alk every day in the 
New Jerusalem. God is your love and your desire ; 
you would fain be more acquainted with your Sa- 
vior ; and I know it is your grief, that your hearts 
are not nearer to him, and that they do not more 
feelingly love him, and delight in him. O try this 
life of meditation on your heavenly rest ! Here is 
the mount on which the fluctuating ark of your 
souls may rest. Let the world see, by your heavenly 
lives, that religion is something more than opin- 
ions and disputes, or a task of outward duties. If 
ever a Christian is like himself, and answerable to 
his principles and profession, it is when he is most 
serious and lively in this duty. As Moses, before he 
died, w r ent up into Mount Nebo, to take a survey of 
the land of Canaan ; so the Christian ascends the 
mount of contemplation, and by faith surveys his 
rest. He looks upon the glorious mansions, and 
says, " Glorious things are" deservedly "spoken of 
thee, thou city of God !" He hears, as it were, the 
melody of the heavenly choir, and says, " Happy is 



EXEMPLIFIED. 443 

the people that are in such a case ; yea, happy is 
that people whose God is the Lord!" He looks 
upon* the glorified inhabitants, and says, " Happy 
art thou, O Israel ; who is like unto thee, O people, 
saved by the Lord, the shield of thy help, and who 
is the sword of thine excellency !" When he looks 
upon the Lord himself, who is their glory, he is 
ready, with the rest, to "fall down and worship him 
that Uyeth for ever and ever, and say, Holy, holy, 
Inly, Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is 
to come ! Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, 
and honor, and power !" When he looks on the glo- 
rified Savior, he is ready to say Amen to that " New 
song, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power be 
unto Him that sifteth upon the throne, and unto the 
Lamb, for ever and ever. For thou wast slain, and 
hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every 
kindred, and tongue, aud people, and nation ; and 
hast inadv*, us, unto our God, kings and priests !" 
"When he looks back on the wilderness of this world, 
he blesses the believing, patient, despised saints ; he 
pities the ignorant, obstinate, miserable world ; and 
for himself he says, as Peter, " It is good to be here;" 
or, as Asaph, " It is good for me to draw near to 
God ; for, ]o, they that are far from thee shall perish." 
Thus as Daniel, in his captivity, daily opened his 
window towards Jerusalem, though far out of sight. 
when he went to God Li his devotions ; so may the 
believing soul, in ihis captivity of the flesh, look to 



444 CONTEMPLATION 

wards " Jerusalem which is above.' 7 And as Paxil 
was to the Colossians, so may the believer be wi-h 
the glorified spirits, "though absent in the flesh, yet 
with them in the spirit, joying and beholding their 
heavenly order." And as the lark sweetly sings 
while she soars on high, but is suddenly silenced 
when she falls to the earth ; so is the frame of the 
soul most delightful and .divine while it keeps in 
the views of God by heavenly contemplation. Alas, 
we make there too short a stay, fall down again, 
and lay by our music ! 

But " O thou, the merciful Father of spirits, the 
attractive of love, and ocean of delights, draw up 
these drossy hearts unto thyself, and keep them 
there till they are spiritualized and refined; and 
second thy servant's weak endeavors, and persuade 
those that read these lines, to the oractice of this 
delightful, heavenly work! O suffer not the sou! 
of thy most unworthy servant to be a stranger 'o 
those joys which he describes to others : but keep 
me, while I remain on earth, in daily breathings 
after thee, and in a believing, affectionate walking 
with thee ! And when thou comest, let me be found 
so doing; not serving my flesh, nor asleep, with my 
lamp unfurnished ; but waiting and longing for my 
Lord's return ! Let those who shall read these hea- 
venly directions, not merely read the fruit of my stu- 
dies, but the breathing of my active hope and love ; 
that if my heart were open to their view, they might 



EXEMPLIFIED. 445 

there read the same most deeply engraven wiih a 
beam from the face of the Son of God ; and not find 
vanity, or lust, or pride within, when the words of 
life appear without ; that so these lines may not wit- 
ness against me ; but proceeding from the heart of 
the writer, may be effectual, through thy grace, upon 
the heart of the reader, and so be the savor of life to 
both! Amen." 

" Glory be to God in the highest ; on earth peace, 
good-will toward men" 



THE END 



gg feist*' &««t 



Slil 



6\ 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




